Thomas and Friends - Original Episodes
by Chase The Ferroequinologist
Summary: These are my original episodes! TODAY: Spencer and Henrietta butt heads, while Toby and Mavis have a power struggle over age. After making quite a scene on arrival, new engine Clive makes the perfect joke at the Ffarquhar Comedy Club, and helps stop some rampaging cows. Meanwhile, Byron tears up the town while on a rampage in "Tramway Tales"! Please rate out of 10!
1. The Replacement

**THE REPLACEMENT**

The Sodor Dieselworks are always buzzing with activity. Diesels are always rushing in and out of the works, getting parts replaced. Den and Dart are very good at managing their workload, and they know all the diesels very well. However, some diesels are there more often than others, and this can cause Den and Dart to be worried. One day, Den was shunting trucks in the yards when the yard manager walked up.

"Distress call, Den. Norman's stuck out on the main line. They've sent another engine to take his train, but you need to take him here." Den sighed awkwardly.

"Yes, sir." Den said, and he headed off.

* * *

Norman is a diesel who works all over the island, doing odd jobs. He delivers fuel from the mainland, he shunts trucks at various yards, and he takes workmen to repair various machinery around the railway. He is a very smart engine, and likes having his driver read books to him when he is resting, or, as the case may be, broken down. However, his engine often causes problems for him. Ever since he arrived on the island, Norman had constantly had to visit the Dieselworks for maintenance. In that time, he had become good friends with Den and Dart. However, his visits were very frequent, and his friends began to grow concerned. Den saw Norman on a siding as James coupled up to his supply train.

"Salutations, Den!" Norman smiled weakly. Smoke had been billowing from his engine. Den winced as he eyed fuel leaking from his panels.

"You alright, Norman? What was it this time?" Den coupled up to the weak diesel.

"What do you think it was? It was my engine. It's never worked right and you know it." Norman sighed, "Old piece of rubbish. It's going to finally give out on me soon."

"Funny, that's what the Fat Controller would say about you!" James sneered and laughed as he puffed away. Norman looked miserable as Den began to push him to the works. Den tried to cheer his friend up, but it did no good.

"Cheer up, Norm!" Den smiled, "We'll have you fixed soon enough and then you can go back to being useful. You'll like that, won't you?" Norman simply looked down in embarrassment and shame.

* * *

Norman stood on the hoist as the men worked hard on his engine. Hammers banged and and wrenches turned, but Norman began to grow very bored. The fact that Den and Dart were busy meant he had no one to talk to. One night, Norman was especially tired, and as a result he fell asleep earlier than usual.

"I'm positively debilitated..." Norman's eyes slowly shut and he headed to sleep for the night.

The following morning, Norman awoke to the sounds of two men having a conversation below him. To his surprise, it was the Fat Controller and the Dieselworks Manager!

"...the replacement should be here in a few days. Norman can work until then." The Fat Controller said, as the manager wrote something down. Norman's eyes were bulging out of their sockets and his imagination was running wild.

"Replacement...?" Norman whispered. He couldn't be replaced! Could he?

"Of course, Sir. Do you want us to tell him?"

"Not yet. Not until I've signed the order. I've been considering this for a while."

Norman was starting to worry immensely. The Fat Controller was going to replace him!

"Alright, have a pleasant day, Mr. Renchmore." The Fat Controller hopped into a nearby Winston and started backing away. The manager gave a curt wave, and headed off to fetch some parts. Norman was terrified!

"I'm going to be replaced!" Norman babbled, "I'm a goner! I declare, I'm doomed! DOOMED!"

* * *

Norman's repairs were completed, so he headed out to fetch some oil from the mainland. He arrived at Barrow station, where his tankers were waiting for him. As he backed onto a siding to wait for another train to pass, he noticed something on the other side of the yard.

"Pardon me, sir," Norman politely addressed the nearby yard foreman, "I was wondering if you could bestow me with the information as to where those wagons over there are bound?" The foreman looked at his clipboard in agitation.

"Another engine was supposed to come and take these down to the shipping company at Brendam today, but no one's come yet. We need them delivered before the day's out, or the shipping company will complain." This gave Norman an idea.

"May I offer my services in this endeavor? I'm bound for Brendam anyhow; it's one of the stops on my fuel run. A few extra trucks would certainly be no difficulty." The foreman agreed, and Norman excitedly coupled the trucks up to the end of his train.

"This is sure to prove to the Fat Controller wrong! I'm valuable!" Norman revved his engine into life, and started off for Brendam.

Norman's trucks rattled behind him as he rolled along the line. They were much heavier than his normal load, but he struggled on nonetheless.

"Once the Fat Controller sees me pulling loads outside my..." Norman coughed, "...average capabilities, he's sure to see how much of an asset I am!" He approached a junction, where the signal was up.

"Curses, a signal! I'm sure to be tardy now!" He braked to a stop.

Down the line, Scruff was pushing some wagons full of rubbish from the nearby town. They were especially heavy, and Scruff was in a hurry to not be late. However, he was in such a hurry that he didn't notice that his trucks were uncoupled. He rolled over the hill, and lost control as the trucks rolled down the other side.

"Oh no!" Scruff cried, giving chase. But it was too late. The trucks swerved down a sideline, approaching Norman at his signal. Norman's eyes bulged in shock as the trucks hit him with a dull bump, sending rubbish flying all over him.

Norman coughed as the foul-smelling waste covered him from buffers to cab. He groaned, disgusted.

"This is... _revolting_!" Norman gagged, "Filthy, disgusting, unclean..." Scruff rolled over apologetically and began to move the trucks onto a siding.

"Sorry, Norm. Lost control of my trucks on the hill. Do you want us to help clean you off?" Under normal circumstances, Norman would have agreed in a heartbeat, but he couldn't be late. Not today.

"No thank you, Scruff. I have a schedule to uphold! No time to dally around!" And with that, Norman rolled away as quickly as he could, covered in rubbish and with a foul smell trailing behind.

"What a strange diesel..." Scruff muttered, before taking a deep breath to try and escape the smell.

* * *

Norman approached the docks in record time, and he was very proud of himself. He arrived at the docks and honked loudly.

"Ouch!" Cranky groaned at the loud noise.

"Present! Right on time!" Norman grinned. Cranky rolled his eyes.

"Keep your bonnet on, Norman, you're ten minutes early. Make yourself useful and shunt your trucks into their proper sidings." Norman grumbled to himself as he moved the trucks into their sidings.

"Ignoramus..." Norman grunted. Cranky sniffed the air and recoiled in horror.

"And what's that stink? Jeez, Norman, you reek. Get outta here before the entire yard smells you!" Norman shuffled away, offended, but satisfied.

"Early! Ha! I'd like to see the Fat Controller try to replace me now! In fact, I'll go see him!" However, Norman had forgotten about the rubbish...

* * *

Norman excitedly rolled into Knapford, where The Fat Controller was in his office. Gordon was at the platform with the express, and he groaned in disgust as he smelt Norman.

"What on earth is that stench?" Gordon scrunched up his nose.

"The smell of a really useful, completely irreplaceable engine, my friend!" Norman grinned proudly. However, the passengers smelt him too, and dashed to get to their trains. The platform was practically deserted, but Norman was far too proud to notice. The Fat Controller, however, noticed.

"Norman, what is the meaning of-" The Fat Controller held his nose at the stink. Norman grinned eagerly.

"Did you want to speak with me, sir? About how up to par my work has been?"

"We can talk later, Norman. Right now, I urge you to get a wash. You could have come through the station with bags of fertilizer and it would not smell this bad." Norman realized that he was still covered in rubbish, and looked down at his buffers.

"Oh, yes...apologies, sir..." Norman shuffled away to get a wash, while the Fat Controller returned to his office. He looked at the empty station.

"This place needs an air freshener..." He decided to go out and buy one.

* * *

Norman was relaxing at the washdown. He felt very proud of the work that he had done.

"A job well done," he smiled to himself as the men scrubbed off the rubbish, "he's sure to keep me on now!" A perfectly clean Norman then began to try to leave the washdown, but smoke erupted from his engine.

"W-WHAT!?" Norman coughed as he desperately tried to struggle on, "Not now! Please, not now!" But Norman spluttered to a stop nonetheless. He shouted out in anguish. His driver stepped down and sighed.

"I'll get out our Steinbeck after I've called for help..." As the driver went to find a telephone.

* * *

As Norman and his driver read _Of Mice and Men,_ Den received the call that Norman had broken down at the washdown.

"Oh no..." The maintenance diesel sped off to pick up Norman. Norman sat miserably as his driver sat on his running plate and read. Den honked his horn to signal his arrival, and the driver stepped down.

"Come on, Norman," Den buffered up behind Norman and began to push the solemn engine to the Dieselworks. The faulty diesel was in hysterics as they approached the Dieselworks.

"This can't happen! Not now! Not after I've worked to my limits to prevent it!" Norman was practically in tears.

"That sounds like exactly what the problem is," Den sighed, "you overworked your engine. Should be a quick job, only a few hours."

Norman was still miserable. As Den pushed him through Knapford, he saw that the Fat Controller's window was open to his office, complete with a new air freshener. But Norman didn't care about the air freshener. The Fat Controller was talking on the telephone.

"Yes, alright...the replacement should be here in a few days? Perfect." As the Fat Controller addressed the caller, Norman was completely broken.

"Even after all my work...I WAS COVERED IN GARBAGE AND HE _STILL_ WANTS TO REPLACE ME! I guess I am completely useless. Completely and utterly..." Norman couldn't finish his sentence as he began to cry in fear and misery. Den looked at him with pity, and they continued their journey.

* * *

Meanwhile, James had finished his work for the day, and was eagerly looking forward to to getting a good rest.

"Ah, no more trains, no more shunting...just rest..." James grinned as he slowly shut his eyes. However, he suddenly heard a horn and popped an eye open.

"Oh, what is it now?" James saw Winston and the Fat Controller awkwardly attempting to drive towards him. Eventually they came to a stop on the turntable. The Fat Controller stepped down.

"Hello, James." The Fat Controller walked over with a schedule in his hands.

"What do you need, sir?" James muttered through gritted teeth.

"I need a load of ballast taken down to Vicarstown, but neither Donald or Douglas are available. Looking at the timetables, you were available, so I need you to go down to Arlesburgh Junction and collect the train." James pouted.

"But, sir! I just finished my work! Can't Norman or one of those other diesels do it? They're dirty, they _like_ trucks!"

"Really useful engines don't argue, James!"

James grumbled as his crew began tending to his fire again as the Fat Controller left.

* * *

James collected his train and started off, his trucks trundling behind. Along the way, the trucks decided to start having fun with him. They bumped and banged him back and forth as they approached Gordon's Hill.

"Hey! Stop that!" James tried to keep control of the trucks, but he couldn't. They cackled as James began to pick up speed as they trundled over the hill.

"On! On! On!" The trucks shouted as James began speeding down the line. He surged his brakes against them, but it did no good. James cried out as he nearly came off at a bend. His driver meddled about with the controls but nothing could slow James down.

"HEEEEEEEEELP!" James screamed as he sped through a station.

* * *

At the Dieselworks, Norman's repairs were completed, and he was sadly shunting trucks into various sidings. He was visibly upset, and Den felt sorry for him.

"You alright, Norm?" Den asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Do I _look_ alright? Shunting these trucks is like being on death row! The Fat Controller is getting rid of me...I attempted to prove that I was irreplaceable...fat lot that did. I pulled extra trains, I was early...but I'm still just some kind of...lemon." Norman looked dejectedly down at the ground. Den sighed.

"Norman, if it makes you feel better, _I_ think you're irreplaceable." Norman raised an eyebrow.

"Way to bestow upon me exactly what I wish to hear, Den." Norman let out a low noise that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a chuckle. But Den looked determined.

"Norman, I mean it. You bring our fuel from the mainland! Without fuel, not a diesel on Sodor would be running! And you shunt trucks in every yard on this railway, without you, everywhere would be a mess! And without you bringing workmen to the machinery, we wouldn't have working signals, or anything! You're absolutely irreplaceable! So what if you're a little faulty, you still get the job done!" Norman's shame turned to determination.

"You're right," Norman grinned with a fire in his eyes, "I'll prove it again, even when I'm down and out, I can still make a comeback!" Norman eagerly returned to his shunting with vigor. Den smiled.

"That's Norm. Always striving to be useful." And he rolled away.

* * *

James was still speeding down the line. Up ahead there was a level crossing where Trevor the Traction Engine was pulling a cartload of apples. James saw Trevor and yelled out in horror.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, TREVOR!" Trevor looked in shock and desperately sped up. But James was going far too fast. James' driver slammed on the brakes, but it looked like they were going to crash.

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

James managed to jam on his brakes on just in time and screeched to a halt. He jolted forwards as he came to a sudden stop. Trevor let out a sigh of relief, before continuing along his way. James' driver stepped down and inspected him.

"Well, we haven't crashed, James. But you've damaged your brakes. We can't keep going now; we need another engine to take our train." James cried out in exasperation.

"I'll be stuck here for hours!" James groaned, "Have you seen how busy everyone is?"

"Not much we can do, James." The driver sighed, "I'll go back and call for help."

* * *

Down at the Dieselworks, Den and Dart had gone out to pick up some parts. As a result, Norman was left alone to his shunting. To his surprise, the Dieselworks manager walked up to him.

"James is stranded down the line with our ballast. His brakes failed and he can't start off again. I need an engine to go down there and take the train for him." Norman thought for a moment, and grinned.

"I'd be happy to offer my services, sir. I am freshly repaired and eager to probe my worth. A steam engine with an ego and a couple of ballast trucks should be absolutely no issue." The manager thought for a moment.

"Alright, Norm. Off you go. Be careful and don't strain yourself!" Norman eagerly rolled away to rescue James.

"This shall be my swan song! If I'm being replaced, I'll make them regret it!" Norman shouted as he rolled out of the Dieselworks. The Dieselworks manager looked confused.

"Replaced...?" He muttered, scratching his head.

* * *

James was surprised to see Norman backing down in front of him.

"What are you doing here? I need an engine, not a broken toolbox." Norman rolled his eyes.

"Clever. Insulting my color _and_ my shape. Allow me to take part in this sort of verbal jousting. From far away, you somewhat resemble a horse pill on wheels!" Norman chuckled at his own wit while James went as red as his paintwork.

"Now, we haven't time to chat, we have a train to pull...oh, sorry. _I_ have a train to pull. Just try and keep this as minimally difficult as possible. Keep your brakes off and we should be smooth sailing." James growled under his breath as Norman started off, pulling the indignant red engine and screaming ballast trucks behind him.

* * *

Norman coasted down the main line. The trucks were exhausted from their previous runaway and as a result gave him a nice smooth ride. James trundled along behind him, silent in his brooding. Norman loved every moment of the ride. He had never felt more powerful in his life.

"What a finale!" Norman grinned, "The underdog comes back just before his final fate and shows them all! But, alas, it seems the Fat Controller's decision is made." Norman smiled sadly, while James raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do you think the Fat Controller is sending you away?" James seems absolutely bewildered.

"Seeing as there is no evidence to the contrary, I'd say it's much more likely than not." Norman said, "I've heard various exchanges that suggest that he has already acquired a replacement for me." James raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't sound like the Fat Controller...maybe you were just hearing it out of context?" Norman thought for a moment, and sighed.

"Seems too good to be true. I thank you for the thought." Norman continued on while James chuckled.

"I know the Fat Controller. You'll see. I'm sure this is just a huge misunderstanding. I'm sure of it." James paused before taking a small breath as they rolled into the Dieselworks, "T-thank you for helping me out, by the way. I've been a bit rude to you and you still helped me out of a jam."

"Is that a bit of respect in there, horse-pill?" Norman grinned smugly, and it was James' turn to laugh.

"I guess it is, toolbox."

* * *

After they came to a stop, Norman uncoupled from James and the ballast trucks and rolled over to refuel. To his surprise, the Fat Controller was there with the Dieselworks Manager. They walked over to Norman.

"Norman, thank you for rescuing James. You are a really useful, _irreplaceable_ engine." Norman beamed proudly, but he looked confused.

"Irreplaceable, sir...?" Norman's eyes widened in sheer joy. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Now I don't know where you got this 'being replaced' business from, but you are an absolutely valuable member of this railway, Norman. All my engines are." Norman was silent for a moment before breaking out into the biggest smile he ever had.

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir! I won't let you down for a moment, sir!" However, his expression froze and he raised one side of his unibrow in confusion.

"If you're not planning on replacing me, then what was all that business about the 'replacement' you were talking about on the telephone?" The Fat Controller laughed loud and long.

"The 'replacement' is for your engine, Norman! I bought a new engine for you to have put in once the workload calms down!" The Fat Controller wiped a tear from his eye due to his laughing, "I have no intention of replacing YOU at all, Norman! I'm giving you a stronger, more reliable engine so you can be as really useful as you want to be!"

Norman beamed as the Fat Controller laughed. As Norman began to excitedly chatter to his friends, the Fat Controller walked to James.

"By the way, I haven't forgotten how you stopped a nasty accident with those ballast trucks. The Vicar called me up to tell me about it. Expect a new coat of paint while your brakes are repaired, eh?" He pat the red engine on the buffers as James grinned.

* * *

After a few months, Norman returned to work. His engine allowed him to get more jobs done than ever before, and he was twice as efficient.

"Clear a path, important train on the way!" Norman called as he sped through Maron with a long line of oil tankers.

"Well, have you ever seen anything like it?" Thomas laughed at the platform as James passed with another train.

"That's Norm for you, always taking pride in his work." The red engine grinned as he watched his friend speed down the line.

Norman still breaks down sometimes; all engines do. But he still knows that he is a valuable part of the North Western Railway, just as everyone is. And he has also learned a lesson about jumping to conclusions.

 **THE END**

* * *

Well, that was an adventure, wasn't it? Seeing as the TV Series hasn't done much to expand on Norman's character, I figured I'd take a swing at him. I've sort of combined his canon persona with his _Enterprising Engines_ persona; eager to please, but somewhat pompous and far too wordy for his own good. This is one of many stories I'll be posting on the site, so keep on the look-out for these in the near future:

\- _Skiff to the Rescue -_ Skiff doubts his usefulness after almost causing an accident, but ends up being just the right engine for the job when Donald's driver falls ill and needs to be taken to the hospital.

\- _Thomas and the Were-Engine -_ Thomas is sent to work on a scenic branch line with an engine named Lucian, who he fears is a were-engine and is going to turn him into one too!

\- _The Sad Story of Glynn -_ Gordon tells Ryan the story of Glynn the "Coffee Pot", his technical problems, and his fall from grace. (This story is supposed to do for Glynn what _The Replacement_ did for Norman).


	2. The Sad Story of Glynn

**THE SAD STORY OF GLYNN**

* * *

Rosie the Dock Tank Engine was shunting trucks in the yard one morning when she suddenly began to feel ill.

"Driver, we need to stop! I don't feel well at all..." Rosie rolled to a stop and her driver began to inspect her. Gordon rolled by to take on water at the nearby column.

"No time to dally around, Rosie! There are trucks that need to be shunted!" Rosie began to turn green as Gordon smugly began to fill up.

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick..." Rosie groaned sickly and brown water erupted from her funnel. Everything around her was covered in brown water.

"Disgusting!" The Troublesome Trucks cried. Gordon, who had gotten the brunt of the blast, spat out the water that has gotten in his mouth. He glared at the sickly looking Rosie.

"I thought the 'Coffee Pots' got scrapped a long time ago!" Gordon grunted, before chuckling at his own joke. Rosie, however, was confused.

"What's a 'Coffee Pot'?" Rosie asked. Gordon laughed, and gave a grin.

"'Coffee Pots' were engines with boilers that point up in the air. They used to work on Thomas' Branch Line, but one of them was our original Number 1. He was far too little to be useful, and he constantly went wrong."

"What happened to him? What was his name?" Rosie was already invested in the story. Gordon smirked as he began his tale.

"His name," Gordon paused for dramatic effect, "was Glynn."

* * *

Long ago, on the North Western Railway, there were four engines who ran the line. Edward, number 2, helped pull both passenger and freight trains. Henry, number 3, did the same, but his small firebox and abnormal shape made him sick quite often. The newest engine, Gordon, number 4, pulled the Express. And the final engine, number 1, was an engine named Glynn. Glynn helped shunt trucks and coaches at the big station, but he was rather unreliable.

"Hurry up, 'Coffee Pot'!" Gordon called as Glynn struggled to shunt his coaches to the platform.

"I'm going as fast as I can! These new express coaches are heavy!" Glynn pushed his hardest, but he could only move a few coaches at a time.

"If I wasn't a dignified express engine, I would shunt these coaches myself and be faster than you! Hurry up!" Glynn became increasingly nervous as he sped up.

"I'm trying!" Glynn cried. Suddenly, it happened. Glynn felt a pain in his boiler, and began to speed up and was visibly afraid.

"I'm going to have a coffee leak!" Glynn called, and tried his best to leave the station as quickly as he could, but it was too late. Glynn screeched to a halt and brown water spurted from his boiler. Passengers ran for shelter inside the coaches, station staff ducked under canopies, and Gordon's crew ducked in their cab. Glynn's had "coffee" sprayed all over the station. The platform was soaked. The guard's whistle blew and Gordon left the station while Glynn coughed miserably.

"'Coffee Pot'..." Gordon muttered, while Glynn sat pitifully idling at the platform behind him. The little engine sighed, and waited for another engine to come.

* * *

It was dark when Edward arrived to take Glynn home. The blue engine looked sadly at the dejected Glynn.

"It could happen to any engine, Glynn!" Edward said reassuringly as they puffed along the line towards Tidmouth.

"But it always happens to me..." Glynn sighed, "I appreciate your kindness, Edward, but I'm just not designed well. Mr. Hatt is clearly a better director than he is an engineer."

"The Fat Director knows you try your best, Glynn. You've been running this railway longer than any of us! Don't listen to what Gordon says. He's young, hotheaded." Glynn looked down at the rails at this remark.

"Don't you think I know that, Edward? Doesn't mean he isn't right." Glynn sighed, "My problems have been getting worse lately. The leaks only use to only happen once every few weeks and I could feel them coming. Now they happen every other day and they come out of nowhere! The heavier stock isn't helping either. I can only move two or three of those new coaches at a time! I'm becoming increasingly outdated. I'm too small to manage the yard now...Mr. Hatt needs one of those tank engines or something." Glynn looked miserable as Edward shunted him onto the turntable outside the sheds. Edward moved Glynn into his berth, before backing onto the turntable and backing into his own berth.

"Every engine has their day. You told me that, after all! I'm sure you just need a tune-up and you'll be as good as new!" Glynn smiled at his friend, but his mood changed when he saw Gordon backing into the sheds. The express engine looked at Glynn and scoffed.

"You cleaned up yet, 'Coffee Pot'?" Glynn glared at his big blue aggressor, but before he could retort, Henry arrived. The green engine steamed up to the turntable, and the Fat Director stepped down from his cab.

"Thank you, Henry. My engines, I have an announcement to make. I have ordered a new engine to help alleviate you all of some of the extra work. With five engines, running the line should be a lot easier. He should come some time in the next few weeks. Until then, I want you all to be working at your best. Before he arrives some gentlemen from the board should be visiting." Gordon and Edward grinned before trying to speak, but the Fat Director cut them off.

"Don't get excited you two, I've already decided that Henry is going to pull the train." Henry smirked proudly before the Fat Director continued, "Now, remember, you all need to be working at your best!" The Fat Director began to walk away as his three tender engines agreed among one another. However, he snuck around and headed through an open-door in the shed. Inside, he saw Glynn, looking miserable. He sighed, and walked up to the 'Coffee Pot'.

"Hello, Glynn." He greeted the engine warmly. Glynn simply looked away.

"Is it time, Mr. Hatt? Are you going to send me for scrap?" Glynn looked absolutely miserable, and the Fat Director sighed before chuckling.

"Certainly not, Glynn. What ever made you think that?" Glynn looked down at his buffers before continuing.

"I'm coming apart. I'm starting to fail every other day now. I need careful maintenance that you just can't provide. You'd be much better off financially if you simply got rid of me; I'm far too expensive and not strong enough to keep around." The Fat Controller looked sadly at his Number 1, before picking up a rag and lightly begin cleaning him.

"Glynn, you are one of my engines. Each of my engines means so much to me, and I would never willingly get rid of any of you, even with your technical faults. You are hardworking and wise, Glynn. I need you to keep the younger engines with a level head." Glynn smiled sadly at his builder as he stepped down from the cab.

"Thank you, Mr. Hatt." He said quietly, and the Fat Director smiled.

"Now get some sleep, Glynn. You have a lot of hard work to do tomorrow." Glynn smiled as the Fat Director left the shed.

"Poor engine," the Fat Director said to himself as he climbed into his car. As he drove home, he thought about the board meeting that had taken place earlier that day.

* * *

"...and coming to our engines, in this month's meeting. Although out roster has taken somewhat of a hit since we sent 98462 and 87546 away, we soon should be filling out all our gaps soon. Gordon has been performing splendidly in his duties as an express engine, and the CME and I have asked for an engine from the mainland to help deal with both trucks and coaches, so Edward won't be as overworked. Henry has been performing well lately, and Glynn is serving well in his role as station pilot." However, a hand from one of the board members stopped Mr. Hatt in the middle of his speech.

"Mr. Hatt, we need to talk to you about Glynn. We understand that you have an attachment to him, but he is simply becoming a liability. Our railway is expanding, and we simply cannot afford to keep such a small, weak engine around, especially in such larval stages of the line. It would simply be so much more economical to sell Glynn and get a tank engine instead." The Fat Director sighed. There had been several conversations like this at previous board meetings, and the message was clear; Glynn had to be sold. But the Fat Director couldn't do that. If he did, he would lose a friend, someone who trusted him would perish at his hand, and his past as an engineer would be abandoned. He didn't want to do it, but he knew that he had to.

"Yes, Mr. Dry. I'll look into finding a buyer for him." The board members muttered among themselves. They looked at Mr. Hatt before Mr. Dry spoke up.

"Good, Topham. This month's meeting has been adjourned." The board members walked away while Mr. Hatt sat guiltily in his chair. He knew he had to do something he really didn't want to do.

* * *

The following day, Glynn returned to work. He was determined to be just as useful as everybody else, and he was working at his absolute best. He hadn't had a single coffee leak that day, and he felt great. Edward was surprised to see Glynn shunting the heavy coaches and trucks so efficiently.

"Feeling the spark of life again, Glynn?" Edward grinned, while Glynn laughed.

"Mr. Hatt believes in me, Edward! I have to do my best for the board!" Glynn whistled before returning to work.

"As long as I've met him, I've never seen him this confident!" Edward remarked to Henry, who was sitting nearby.

"Well, maybe he's just as excited for me to pull the board as I am!" Henry smiled proudly, but Edward was worried.

"Now, Henry, don't get too excited. We don't want something to go wrong, do we?" Both engines laughed and got back to their work, but Henry was still very excited.

"This could be my chance to prove that I am a really useful engine!" Henry would say to his driver. However, as Henry grew more excited, his crew and the other engines grew less so.

* * *

As weeks passed by approaching both the board train and the new engine's arrival, it grew wet, and cold, and it very much accentuated Glynn's mood. His confidence had disappeared, and even though he hadn't had a coffee leak yet, he still felt rather sick.

"Driver, do we have to go out today? It's raining and I don't have a cab!" The driver sighed and stepped up.

"Sorry, Glynn, you know that we have work to do!" Glynn sighed as they headed off. However, nearby, Henry was staring at the falling rain outside.

"I can't go out there! It'll ruin my beautiful green paint and red stripes!" Henry yelped as his fireman began to stoke his fire.

"Come on, Henry! The board train is today!" The driver said, but Henry simply refused to move.

"I'm not going out there until it's clear again!" Henry complained, and his crew couldn't get him to start. They were very cross.

"You great silly engine! Now the Fat Director will have to find another engine!"

* * *

Up at Knapford, Glynn was attempting to shunt some coaches when he saw the Fat Director and the board standing on the platform. The Fat Director was nervously pacing back and forth.

"Where's Henry? He was supposed to be here by now!" Mr. Dry raised an eyebrow at him, and decided to speak up.

"Topham, wouldn't it be easier to simply find another engine? It's clear Henry isn't coming." The Fat Director looked at the clock, before sighing and walking off to talk to the only engine available...

"Glynn!" The Fat Director shouted as Glynn shunted some trucks onto a siding. The 'Coffee Pot' suddenly rolled to a halt.

"Yes, sir?" Glynn asked. The Fat Director hesitated for a moment, but he began.

"Something's up with Henry, so I need you to pull the board train. Fetch some coaches and come to platform 1." He then strode away. Glynn was filled with both excitement and trepidation.

"I haven't pulled a train in years..." He thought, "but Mr. Hatt is relying on me!" He determinedly puffed off to fetch some coaches.

* * *

He rolled into the coach sidings, looking for a few smaller coaches for him to pull. Suddenly, he saw two orange coaches and excitedly buffered up to them. They were just the perfect size!

"Who's there?" One asked.

"Is something happening?" The other cried.

"Apologies for waking you up, ladies, but we have a train to pull!" Glynn shunted the coaches to the platform, and the board got on board. The Fat Director looked nervously at Glynn before following the board inside the two coaches. The guard's whistle blew and Glynn struggled off.

"Come on, come on, come on..." Glynn puffed across the junction outside Knapford. However, he was too focused on pulling the coaches to notice the fact that the points were set in the wrong direction. Instead of heading along the main line, he was switched onto the line leading towards his old home: the Tidmouth, Knapford, and Elsbridge Light Railway.

* * *

The line was old and overgrown, and the tracks were bumpy. The Fat Director was well aware that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell the board, so he could only try to desperately signal Glynn when they weren't looking. Glynn was sure something was wrong as well.

"This seems far too familiar to be the main line..." Glynn muttered, but he struggled on nonetheless. The two coaches chattered to themselves.

"Annie, this isn't the right place!"

"I know, Clarabel, but he won't listen to us! He's too focused!" And that he was. Glynn simply wanted to keep moving, even if he wasn't sure where he was and he began to feel boiler pains again. Suddenly, he rounded a bend and realized where he was. He cried out in horror.

"Oh no! We're at Ffarquhar!" Glynn pulled into the old abandoned station. Ever since his old line had closed, the station had been shut down and disused. Glynn pulled into the platform and came to a stop. The Fat Director nervously stepped out of the coaches, with the unamused board following. Mr. Dry raised an eyebrow.

"This doesn't look like Vicarstown, Mr. Hatt." The Fat Director was sweating bullets, and nervously walked up to Glynn.

"No problem at all, just a mere misdirection of the points! Glynn can just take the coaches back to the junction! Right, Glynn?" The Fat Director looked desperate. Glynn was determined to make things right.

"Certainly, sir!" Glynn tried to start off again, but he suddenly felt a familiar feeling.

"Uh oh..." The Fat Director quickly shooed the railway board into Annie and Clarabel at the familiar noise, but it was too late.

"Coffee leak!" Glynn cried. Brown water spurted from his funnel and sprayed all over the station. Water covered the old station and a siding alongside the line. Once the event was over, Glynn felt very ill.

"Ugh..." Glynn groaned. The Fat Director and the board stepped out of the coaches and surveyed the damage. Mr. Dry stared at the Fat Director, who shrunk into his coat. He then began to speak.

"And _now_ Glynn cannot move! I warned you, Hatt, but you didn't listen to me! That 'coffee pot' is an absolute pile of junk! This is the last straw! Call your new engine now! I never want to see this pile of scrap again!" Mr. Dry stomped off to sit on a bench, but realized that it was soaking wet and simply returned to Annie, and the rest of the board followed. The Fat Director looked down at the floor.

"I-is this it, sir?" Glynn was tearing up. The Fat Director couldn't look his first engine in the face when he answered. If Glynn could see his face, he would realize that he was tearing up as well.

"Yes. Yes it is, Glynn."

* * *

An hour or so later, the new engine arrived. He was a medium-sized engine, painted black with red stripes. He looked extraordinarily nervous. The Fat Director greeted him.

"Hello, you must be James." The black engine looked extraordinarily nervous.

"Y-yes. That's m-me, sir." The Fat Director smiled. The new engine's insecurities reminded him of himself in his younger days.

"Well, James. We need you to do two things for us. First, you need to move the engine at the front of the train into that siding over there. Second, you need to take these coaches back up the line." James gave a nervous smile.

"Y-yes, sir." James ran round the train and coupled up to Glynn. He moved the dejected 'Coffee Pot' onto a siding, and awkwardly buffered up to the coaches again. The board members shuffled inside, but the Fat Director remained on the platform. He sighed and looked at his sobbing first engine, before stepping inside as well. James whistled and brought the coaches away, leaving Glynn to sit on his siding forever.

* * *

"Is that it? What happened next? I've been to Ffarquhar and I know that he isn't still there!" Rosie had finished having her tank cleaned, but Gordon simply looked down.

"I don't know what happened to him. I can only assume he was scrapped. I never said the story had a happy ending." Before Rosie could say anything else, Gordon puffed away to pull his express.

"W-wait!" Rosie cried, but Gordon was already too far away.

Later that day, Rosie had to pick up the milk from Elsbridge. She had been thinking about Glynn non-stop, and was determined to find out what happened to him. Suddenly, she heard a whistle and Thomas arrived with Annie and Clarabel.

"Hello, Rosie!" Thomas smiled, but Rosie still looked upset, "Is something wrong?"

"Did you ever know an engine named Glynn?" Rosie asked. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Many years ago, yes. But he's gone now." Rosie sighed.

"So I guess he was scrapped then..." To Rosie's surprise, Thomas laughed. He laughed loud and long.

"Glynn wasn't scrapped, Rosie! He lives in a museum on the mainland!"

"What? B-but how? Gordon says he was left on that siding forever, and he's not there now!"

"Gordon doesn't know the whole story! Let _me_ tell you how it ends!"

* * *

After Glynn was left on the siding, he remained there for many years. Plants began to grow around him and he began to rust. He felt absolutely miserable, but he was pleased that he hadn't been scrapped yet. Then one day, people came to fix up the station building at Ffarquhar. Word echoed around the workers about "the new number one" at the big station. Glynn would hear them talking about all sorts of antics of this tank engine. He heard about the little engine being dragged along by Gordon and the express. He heard about him pulling a train, but leaving all his coaches behind. He heard about him taking trucks, but almost crashing. And finally, he heard about him helping James after an accident and being sent to run the branch line. Glynn waited expectantly along with the new set of passengers as he saw the little blue engine roll into the station, a number one on his tanks. Glynn decided to speak up.

"Hello! You must be the new number one!" Glynn called to the tank engine, who looked back at him in wonder.

"I'm Thomas!" Glynn looked at the younger engine, and made a decision.

"Well, look after the branch line, Thomas! And wear that number with pride!" Thomas smiled right back.

"Don't worry, Mister Coffee Pot, I will!" The engine whistled and began to puff away,

"You can count on me!" Glynn frowned at the use of his old nickname.

"B-but, I'm not Mister 'Coffee Pot', my name is Glynn!" Suddenly, he realized something. It was the first time he had heard the name said without any ill will. Thomas had said the name because it was what he resembled. Glynn couldn't help chuckling.

"Yes, Mister Coffee Pot..."

* * *

As the years went by, Glynn helped Thomas to get to know the branch line back to front. He helped him deal with the trucks he had to bring down from the quarry, he told him stories from the days of his old railway, and he provided Thomas with a friend. One day, however, Thomas was horrified to see that Glynn wasn't on his siding.

"Where is he? I hope something hasn't happened..." Thomas puffed back up the line to Elsbridge. He was surprised, but overjoyed by what he saw.

"Glynn! What are you doing up there?" Thomas called. Glynn was atop a flat truck, attached to a goods train. He was beaming from buffer to buffer.

"I'm being restored! A museum on the mainland wants to buy me!" He laughed joyfully, "I'll be spic and span when you see me next!"

And he certainly was. Thomas came to visit Glynn at the works, and he looked as good as new. His red paint glistened in the sunshine, and his number 1 was as prominent as ever. Thomas smiled at his friend.

"I guess this is goodbye, then." Thomas was happy, but there were still tears. Glynn smiled back.

"Yes, but hopefully not forever." And the two friends exchanged a smile.

Glynn left for the mainland and arrived at the museum, where he was kept in good working order, he was clean, and most of all he didn't have anymore coffee leaks!

* * *

"...And every year, Driver gets a card from the museum with a picture of Glynn in it! He's not running anymore, but he's still kept well maintained. Certainly much better than being scrapped!" Rosie beamed.

"Glad to hear that everything turned out alright for him, especially after he went through so much." Suddenly, the guard's whistle blew and Rosie left the station, leaving Thomas to reminisce about his old friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Fat Controller sat in his office. He was sorting out some paperwork when he found himself looking through the photos on his desk. He of course, had ones of his mother, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. But there was one photo at the very end of the desk that hadn't been moved in a while. He picked up the photo and looked at it. In the photo, a younger Topham Hatt, as the CME of the Tidmouth, Knapford, and Elsbridge Light Railway, stood with Glynn. He looked fondly at the photo, before placing it down again, and returning to his paperwork.

 **THE END**

* * *

Since his introduction, I've had a soft spot for Glynn. I've conceptualized a lot of stuff featuring him. Ryan was originally going to be the one the story was told to, but I realized that we haven't seen Rosie in a while and I decided to give her a more prominent role. It was much harder for me to establish Glynn's character than Norman's, but I think I pulled him together as an engine who has great sentimental value to the Fat Controller, but doesn't use that to his advantage. He is humble, and believes that every engine deserves their time in the spotlight. However, his belief in himself and the people and engines around him ended up being his downfall. But his belief in Thomas brought him back, and he is currently having a great life. Would you all like to see another story about Glynn? Are there other characters you want me to expand upon through a story? (from any era of the show mind you, including the RWS!) As always, here is what's coming up next.

\- _Skiff to the Rescue -_ (see previous chapter)

\- _Thomas and the Were-Engine_ (see previous chapter)

\- _Boring Old Frank -_ Frank the diesel feels neglected when he feels he lacks a defining trait other than being a diesel.


	3. Skiff to the Rescue

**SKIFF TO THE RESCUE**

* * *

Skiff the Railboat is a little sailboat on wheels that gives tours around Arlesburgh Harbour. Skiff isn't anything like other engines; he has a sail, and is much smaller than other engines. As a result of this, he is only allowed to run around Arlesburgh Harbour, as it could be risky for him to run out on the main line. One day, Skiff was finishing up a tour and his passengers were disembarking.

"Thanks for coming out on a tour with us!" Skiff called as his driver helped an elderly passenger down, "Tell your friends!" Unfortunately, his driver was so busy helping the passenger that he didn't notice than he left Skiff's anchor up! Without any weight to hold him down, Skiff began to be dragged forwards.

"Oh no! My anchor! Somebody help!" Skiff drifted off the points and onto the goods line. His driver sprinted to try and stop him, but Skiff drifted right onto the points. Suddenly, they heard a loud whistle.

"Donald!" Skiff wailed. The Caledonian engine was barreling down the line with a ballast train.

"Och! Get oot of my way!" Donald braked hard. Skiff wailed in anticipation and fear. However, Donald managed to stop just in time. No one was hurt, and both Skiff and Donald were unharmed. However, Donald was very cross.

"Ye silly little boat! Who do ye think ye are moseying yer weh out onto the line? There could have been an accident!" Skiff felt ashamed and embarrassed.

"Sorry Donald, My driver forgot to let anchor down when we stopped…we have strong winds today you see, and…"

"Och, I dinnae want to hear it. But know this, driftwood; little things like ye have nae place oot on the main line. Stay on yer little tourist line!" And with Skiff pushed out of the way, Donald rushed off, trying to make up for lost time. Skiff sighed before being turned around and sailing back to his shed.

"He's right…I do have no place on the main line…"

* * *

As the sun set, Skiff sat sadly in his shed nearby the main line. He saw engines bustling past pulling trains. They looked confident, proud, and they knew that what they were doing was important.

"I wish I was doing something important…" Skiff sighed sadly. Ryan rolled past with a goods train.

"Afternoon, Skiff!" Ryan whistled.

"Hello!" Skiff called back, but Ryan was already ahead behind a lot of trucks. Skiff sighed.

"Pulling trains is important…Donald's right, I'm a silly little boat that can never leave his little line."

"You saying something, Skiff?"

Skiff looked to see his driver organizing the money from the day's tours. Skiff sighed.

"Driver, Am I just a useless boat who always gets in the way?"

"Certainly not," laughed the driver, "Who made you think that?"

"It's just…I can't go out on the main line, and I'm much too small to pull trains…what use do I have?" Skiff's driver walked over and patted him.

"There, there, Skiff. Your job is important! You bring in a lot of tourism, and money" He excitedly flipped through the cash in his hands, "To the harbour and the townsfolk love you. You just need some time in the spotlight, that's all. It's sure to boost your self-esteem!"

"A-Alright." Skiff gave a small smile.

"That's a good boat. G'night, Skiff. We've a lot of tours scheduled for tomorrow!" And with that, he left. Skiff sadly went to sleep.

* * *

The following day, Skiff was back at work on tours. The wind was high, and plenty of people were on their schedule. Skiff loved feeling the wind in his sail, but he still felt sad when he saw trains speeding past.

"They're doing something worthwhile…" Skiff thought sadly. Suddenly, he heard a familiar whistle as Donald sped by with some empty trucks.

"Whoa!" Skiff coughed away the dust as the Scottish engine sped by, "Be careful, Donald! We've got high winds today!" But Donald was in too much of a hurry to listen. He was running late, and needed to pick up his ballast train from the small engines.

* * *

Bert was shunting ballast hoppers onto the chute when Donald raced in. Donald quickly rolled under the chute, and bumped to a stop. The sudden stop caused his crew to briefly lose their balance in the cab. His driver banged his head on the tender, but managed to get back up and try and shake it off. Bert raised an eyebrow at the engine below him.

"You alright, Donald? You seem in kind of a rush." Donald grunted.

"It's this weather. I don't like it at all. The wind could be trouble with all the ballast blowin' aboot. My crew and I need to get done with our work before it picks up again." The ballast slid out from Bert's hoppers into Donald's trucks.

"Just be careful, Donald. You could have issues if you go too fast!" Bert warned, but Donald scoffed.

"Don't ye think I knoo that? I'm always careful." The guard's whistle blew and Donald set off, "See ye later, Bert!"

As Donald left, his crew had a chat in the cab.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The fireman asked the driver, who held his head.

"I'm fine, just bumped it a little hard. Now come on, we have to get home before the wind picks up." The fireman reluctantly turned away and resumed tending to Donald's fire as they steamed on towards the harbour.

* * *

However, as they approached, Donald's driver began to feel dizzy.

"I don't feel so good…" He said.

"We can get a reserve at the next station if you really feel that bad." However, to the fireman's surprise, the driver collapsed to the floor of the cab. The fireman kneeled down, and shook the driver, but he wouldn't wake up.

"Ted? TED? TED!" The fireman was horrified and called out to Donald.

"Donald! Your driver's unconscious! We need to find help as soon as we can!" Donald was scared, but he knew what to do.

"We have tae keep going until we reach until the harbour, there'll be help there!"

* * *

Donald rounded the bend in Arlesburgh Harbour with the fireman desperately trying to tend to the driver, controls, and fire at once. Donald looked around desperately for someone to help, and he saw someone. However he wasn't happy about it.

"Driver, should we even bother asking Skiff? He's far tae small to get Driver to anywhere helpful." The fireman began to slow Donald down and grabbed some flags.

"He's the only chance we have I'm afraid." The fireman hopped down from the cab after Donald had been braked to a standstill. Skiff was surprised to see Donald there, but he came to a stop.

"Is something wrong?" Skiff's driver asked. The fireman brought the driver out from the cab.

"He just fell unconscious! We need someone to take him to hospital!" Skiff's driver looked nervous as he helped carry Donald's driver aboard Skiff.

"We might get stuck if there's no wind," he said, but Skiff was determined. He had to keep this man safe, and he was going to, whether the wind permitted it or not.

"We'll still give it a good try!" Skiff was focused and ready, as his driver turned him around on his chassis. Skiff's driver caught the wind and they began to sail out onto the main line.

"Keep him safe!" Donald called, "Dinnae ye harm him!" Skiff was beginning to speed along. He had a good gust of wind in his sails and was picking up speed.

"Don't worry, Donald! You can count on me! Skiff to the Rescue!" And Skiff raced off into the wind.

* * *

It was very lucky for Skiff that the points were already set for Donald to pass through, as he was going very fast. The high winds were proving to be to his advantage. Skiff's driver tended to both the sail and their unconscious passenger, and they racing along the line. Duck was traveling up the Little Western with his Slip Coaches when he spotted Skiff coming down the other line.

"Skiff? What are you doing out on the line?" Duck called, but Skiff kept on racing forwards.

"Donald's driver is unconscious! We're taking him to Wellsworth so he can be taken to the hospital!" Duck was surprised as Skiff raced around a bend.

"Don't worry, Skiff! I'll ask my passengers to call an ambulance at the next stop!" Duck didn't know, but one of his passengers was the Fat Controller. He looked out the window, impressed, before making the initiative to move to the front of the coach so he could call for help.

* * *

Skiff coasted down the main line now. However, as they got farther away from the sea, the wind began to die down. Skiff was horrified as he began to slow down.

"No! I have to keep going! I have to! We're almost there!" Skiff felt his pace begin to slow, and his driver panicked.

"Come on, Skiff, we have to hurry!" Skiff kept on forcing himself forwards. Suddenly, another train rushed by, and Skiff felt a gust of wind in his sails.

"We did it! We're nearly there!" Skiff's driver cheered as they sailed down the line into Wellsworth station, where some paramedics were waiting on the platform. Skiff rolled to a stop, and Donald's driver was loaded into the ambulance. Skiff was exhausted, but happy to see that Donald's driver was safe.

"Well done, Skiff!" His driver, equally exhausted, pat his front affectionately, "We helped out big time today. You saved a man's life, doing what you did." Skiff blushed.

"Guess I am useful after all." He muttered quietly, before smiling.

* * *

It was dark by the time the line was clear for an engine to come to push Skiff back to the harbour. The wind had died down, and Skiff had waited on a siding all day. The engines that passed all had heard and congratulated him on saving the day. When Duck arrived to help Skiff home, he was surprised to find that the Fat Controller was on board.

"Hello, sir!" Skiff smiled, and the Fat Controller smiled back.

"I heard about you helping Donald's driver to the hospital today. In fact, I'm the one who called the paramedics!" The Fat Controller chuckled, "You were very brave today, Skiff, and you selflessly abandoned your work to help save a man's life. Even though you aren't an engine, exactly, you were still a really useful, err…railboat." Skiff was ecstatic. He was really useful!

"Thank you, sir!" Skiff was grinning from ear to ear.

"But," the Fat Controller chuckled, "try to stay off the main line from now on, okay? There isn't enough wind for you to _want_ to be out here anyway." Skiff's driver chuckled, and Skiff did as well. Duck buffered up behind Skiff and began to push him home.

"Skiff, Oliver and I are going to bring lots and lots of passengers for you to bring on tours, and so will Ryan and Daisy. You'll have more business than ever before! What do you think of that?"

Skiff was very pleased.

* * *

Business boomed on tours, and Skiff was soon enough filling out every work hour he had. True to his word, Duck and the other engines brought Skiff many new people to bring on tours, and Skiff was sure to provide them with good business. Then one day, Skiff saw Donald as he was out on a tour.

"Hello, Donald! How's your driver?" Skiff asked. The driver poked his head out from the cab. There was a bandage wrapped around it.

"Got a concussion," he pointed to the bandage, "but I'm on the mend. Thank you so much for saving my life. The damage might have been a lot worse if we kept going." Skiff smiled. However, Donald's driver cleared his throat and Donald spoke up.

"Sorry for calling ye oot…I'm just a wee bit aggressive. It was an honest mistake, and I'm sorry for making ye feel bad." Donald looked away sheepishly, and Skiff smiled.

"It's alright, Donald. You made me learn something!"

"What might that be?" Donald raised an eyebrow.

"Every engine is useful, and you don't have to be able to pull trains to do it! Everyone has their own special place on this railway, and mine is here, running tours." Donald was impressed.

"Well, that's good for ye, Skiff. Bye now, I've got some ballast to pick up!" Donald sped ahead while Skiff came to a stop.

"Bye, Donald!"

From then on, Skiff didn't doubt that he was really useful. He knows that every engine is really useful in their own way, whether or not they can pull a train! And Skiff is very happy that he is really useful at what he does best; sailing.

"Woo-hoo!" Skiff called, as he sailed along the line overlooking the harbour. Yes. This was what he did best.

 **THE END**

* * *

I really like Skiff. I don't know why, he's just a cute little character and I loved writing for him. This story was definitely more simple than my other ones thus far, but I think it works best that way. Using Donald and Skiff was a combo I knew would work, and I think I pulled it off well. I'll be doing requests from other people soon, so I've got a bit of a wider quota than usual.

\- _Thomas and the Were-Engine -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Boring Old Frank -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Logan and Hector -_ When the Crosby Coaling Plant buys a new engine, Logan, to shunt trucks for the other engines, his inexperience allows the Troublesome Trucks to run wild. However, Hector the Hopper Truck offers to take Logan under his wing, but will Logan be willing to listen?

\- _The Sodor Spectre_ (based on a request from tate310) - Gordon decides to help Percy play a trick on James after James uses a pile of scrap to tease Percy about being scared of the dark on a trip to the Ironworks.

\- _Accident-Free -_ Diesel attempts to get BoCo in an accident after BoCo is rewarded a plaque for never having any accidents throughout his entire career on the railway.

\- _Duncan and Lenora -_ Duncan is held up on his new route by a wispy old catering lorry named Lenora, and begins trying to make schemes to beat her to the crossing.

\- _Don't Loo About -_ Henry's awareness of the importance of signals bites him in the tender when a signalman locks himself in the bathroom.


	4. Thomas & The Were-Engine

**THOMAS & THE WERE-ENGINE**

One Halloween night, the engines were all resting in Tidmouth Sheds when the Fat Controller arrived.

"Thomas, I need you to help out on the scenic branch line. They need supplies for the station at the top of the line." Thomas was confused. He had never heard of a scenic branch line on Sodor before. But he didn't want to refuse the Fat Controller's instructions.

"Yes, sir!" Thomas smiled. The Fat Controller smiled.

"That's a good engine. Lucian will be waiting at Killdane for you. Your trucks will be in the yard. Work well!" The Fat Controller then left. Thomas, however, was confused.

"Who's Lucian?" Thomas whispered to the other engines after the Fat Controller had left.

"He's the engine who runs the Scenic Line. He's a nice chap, means well." Edward said calmly, but James interrupted him.

"That is, until you encounter him on a full moon." The red engine grinned, "Then he transforms into a monster. A…were-engine! With sharp fangs and red eyes and if he couples up to you while he's transformed, _you'll_ become a were-engine too!" James snorted with laughter as Thomas began to look worried. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Don't listen to him, Thomas. Lucian is a fine engine, and there's no such thing as a were-engine. Be careful though, Thomas. That track isn't very well lit!" Thomas nervously whistled as he puffed out into the night. James sneered and called out again.

"Watch out for the were-engine!" He called, before laughing.

* * *

Thomas picked up his trucks from the yard and started off along towards the Scenic Line. The line looked pretty at night, but Thomas was nervous when he saw the full moon overhead.

"There's no such thing as a were-engine…is there?" Thomas muttered. The trucks overheard him, and began to tease him.

"Ahoo!" One of the trucks howled. The others giggled in their silly way. Thomas bumped them crossly.

"Be quiet! There's no such thing as a were-engine! You all are just being troublesome! Now be quiet until I say so!" But no matter how Thomas tried, the trucks would not shut up about "were-engines".

"Look out, Thomas!" One called, "A pair of _red eyes_ in the night!" Thomas yelped, but realized it was only an owl. He rolled his eyes, but was still spooked. Finally, Thomas pulled into Killdane station. There was no engine in sight.

"Guess there's no Lucian here!" A truck whispered to the others. But suddenly, the hiss of steam filled the yard. The trucks and Thomas instantly went silent.

"W-what was that?" Thomas looked around, but saw nothing in front of him. However, he suddenly heard a loud whistle, which almost sounded like a wolf's howl. He yelped and looked to the other line. Sitting next to him was one of the strangest engines Thomas had ever seen. He was painted a dull gray-brown, and had ten driving wheels. He could have been a tender engine, if there were not for the well tank behind his cab. He had a sloping firebox, like Gordon, and a small squat funnel. He had three domes, and as Thomas noticed, three cylinders. He had the number 20 on a plate on his tank, and was giving Thomas a cheerful, toothy grin. This would have been seen as a friendly gesture, if he didn't have the largest canine teeth Thomas had ever seen. They almost looked like…

"Fangs!" Thomas gasped under his breath. The engine didn't seem to notice.

"You must be Thomas the Tank Engine! I'm Lucian. It's a great honor to have you on my line, you know." Lucian chuckled, causing his teeth to move up and down. Thomas tried to smile but it looked more like he wanted to run away.

"T-thank you!" Thomas stuttered, "I've g-got your t-trucks right here! Seeing as t-that's all we were here for, I better go on ahead!" Thomas tried to leave, but Lucian cut him off at the points.

"Sorry, Thomas. But we're due to travel down the line together. That's how the signals are set. Just let me fetch my trucks then we can leave. But if you're that eager to start off, you can go in front of me!" As Lucian puffed away to fetch his trucks, Thomas nervously chuckled. The trucks however, were spooked. They had begun to think that Lucian was actually a were-engine, and wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

"Stay away from him!" They whispered to one another, "If he couples up, he'll turn you into a were-engine too!" This didn't help Thomas' already frayed nerves. Lucian eventually returned with his trucks, and blew his wolfish whistle again.

"Are we off, Thomas?" Lucian smiled. Thomas shuddered.

"Y-yes. Certainly." And Thomas took off down the scenic branch line, with his trucks rattling behind and Lucian and his train behind them.

* * *

The forest was dark: very dark. Thomas could barely see anything other than the line in front of him and the silhouettes of the trees caused by the glowing full moon in the sky.

"We never usually run trains at night," Lucian called from behind Thomas, "It's too dark." Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"If it's too d-dark, why don't you just put up a few lights here and there?" Lucian chuckled.

"And disturb all this beautiful nature? No way, Thomas. When the sun's up, this place is gorgeous. Even in the dark it still has its beauty." Suddenly, a loud howl sounded out, startling Thomas. He began to speed up, but Lucian called out to him.

"Slow down, Thomas! We're approaching the Wolves' Bend!" Sure enough, Thomas saw a sharp bend in the track and began to slow down. He looked out and saw a clearing nearby a cliff face. Atop the cliff, there were several wolves howling at the full moon. Thomas was amazed, but he heard a loud howl from behind him.

"AHOO!" Lucian howled right with the wolves; Thomas was so scared that as soon as he was around the bend he sped on ahead as fast as his wheels could carry him. Lucian was surprised.

"What does it take for some engines to appreciate nature?" Lucian muttered, and continued around the bend after Thomas. The wolves continued howling at the moon, before looking down at the line below them, their eyes glowing in the moonlight.

* * *

Thomas pulled into the top station. It was a quaint little place, with a small station building and a shed on a siding nearby. It was almost comforting to Thomas, but his comfort was quickly broken when he heard the howling whistle again and Lucian rolled alongside.

"It's small, but its home!" Lucian laughed. Thomas was too nervous to laugh with him. Thomas rolled over to the platform, where the men began to unload his trucks. As Thomas prepared to uncouple and roll away, the truck closest to him cried out.

"No, Thomas! We're sorry for teasing you, just don't leave us with the were-engine!" Under normal circumstances, Thomas would have ignored the trucks. But he was scared and thought the trucks would give him some comfort.

"Alright, but only if you're quiet." Thomas and the now empty trucks rolled into the small shed, with Lucian on the other line. The howling of wolves sounded out again.

"Well, it is the full moon!" Lucian chuckled, and then began to howl with the wolves. The trucks groaned, and Thomas tried to block it out, but Lucian's howling sounded out over everything. Eventually, however, Thomas managed to get to sleep over the howling.

"Finally…" Thomas muttered, and fell fast asleep.

* * *

However, as Thomas slept, something ignited a change in Lucian. His teeth grew sharper. He gained a wolfish snout and his face was covered in fur. His eyes glowed bright red. His transformation was complete.

He growled in an animalistic fashion as he switched tracks and began puffing straight towards Thomas. Thomas was shocked to see a were-engine puffing straight towards him!

"AAH!" Thomas cried as the animal in an engine's body moved towards him before it opened its jaws.

"GET AWAY!" Thomas yelped, and Lucian lunged.

* * *

Thomas' eyes popped open in shock from his nightmare. He let out several heavy breaths, before looking around the yard. All was quiet. Lucian's howling had stopped, and the trucks were fast asleep behind him. Thomas sighed in relief, before looking at the line next to him. To his surprise, Lucian wasn't there.

"Lucian? Lucian?" Thomas was getting increasingly more frightened. Suddenly, another howl rang out through the night. Thomas was petrified.

"James was right! _He really is a were-engine!_ " Thomas didn't know what to do, but the idea suddenly hit him.

"I'll run away! He can't catch me if I get out of these woods!" Thomas grinned and looked towards his driver and fireman, sleeping on cots next to him in the shed.

"Driver! Fireman! Wake up!" Thomas whispered. The driver sat up from his cot.

"What is it, Thomas? We're trying to sleep!" The fireman scratched the back of his neck and yawned. Thomas had to think of something quickly or he wouldn't be able to escape in time.

"Er, the Fat Controller came by, and um, wanted us to take our empty trucks back down to Tidmouth right away!" This hadn't been Thomas' best lie, but the driver seemed to believe it.

"Alright, Thomas. If it's what the Fat Controller wants, we'll do it." The two sleepy crew members climbed into the cab and began to stoke Thomas' fire. Thomas started off, with the trucks rattling behind him.

"What's going on?" They chattered. Thomas called back as he began to speed up.

"Lucian really is a were-engine! We have to get out of here before he transforms us too!" The trucks were very frightened, and they began to push harder to speed Thomas up. The driver stuck his head out of the cab.

"You say something, Thomas?" The driver called as Thomas sped out of the station and onto the scenic line.

"No, Driver. Nothing!" Thomas nervously grinned, and he then sped down the scenic route as fast as his wheels could carry him.

* * *

The trucks were the most frightened of all, and chattered to each other.

"We're not getting caught by some monster! We'll go faster and faster!" Thomas felt a surge from the trucks and tried to slow down.

"Slow down, slow down!" Thomas cried, but the trucks were too scared to listen. They came closer to Wolves' Bend, and Thomas didn't have enough time to slow down.

"BRAKE, DRIVER! BRAKE!" Thomas cried, and his crew leapt clear. Thomas flew off the bend and into the clearing below the cliffside. The trucks chattered as Thomas skidded through the dirt and hit various rocks before coming to a halt right below the cliff. As soon as everything had stopped moving, his crew ran up to him.

"Are you alright, Thomas?" His driver asked. Thomas groaned. His paintwork was scratched and his wheels dented. The fireman climbed up into the cab.

"Let's see if there's any damage to the controls," the fireman began to inspect Thomas' cab, but a noise rang out that struck fear into everyone present. The driver scrambled into the cab and grabbed the fireman's shovel. Thomas gasped as he saw a series of figures in front of him in the clearing.

"The wolves!" Thomas cried in fear, as about twenty wolves began to advance towards Thomas' cab. The driver held the shovel in preparation to defend himself, and the fireman tried to find something to protect himself with. The wolves growled; they didn't like anyone being in their territory, especially big noisy engines. Thomas shut his eyes to try and make them go away, but it did no good. Suddenly, Thomas heard a loud whistle and the wolves fled. Thomas looked to see a familiar engine sitting on the line with a train of coal trucks. He looked positively livid.

"Thomas! What are you doing out here? I thought I left you in the shed!" Thomas looked guiltily away from Lucian's glare as his crew walked over to the train to thank Lucian's.

"I ran away…" Thomas sighed.

"And what on Sodor did you feel the need to run away from?" Lucian shouted, "You caused a bad accident and nearly got your crew killed!" Thomas looked sadly at the ground.

"I was running away from you, Lucian, because I thought you were a…were-engine." Thomas sighed, as Lucian raised an eyebrow, "It's because you had such big teeth and you liked to howl at the moon and James told me you were and…oh, I'm so sorry." Thomas looked at Lucian, whose cold expression softened.

"Oh, Thomas, you silly little engine. There's no such thing as a were-engine. I simply am in touch with nature. The wolves went away because they know my whistle. My teeth have always been like this. And I howl at the moon because it gets me closer to nature. Sorry that I gave you a fright though." Lucian chuckled. Thomas looked sadly down.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Lucian. I called you something you weren't without getting to know you. I listened to rumors and it got me in trouble. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Lucian smiled warmly.

"Nah. Although, from now on, I'd like to be friends. Can we do that?" Lucian gave a toothy grin. Thomas smiled back.

"Yes. That'd be wonderful."

* * *

The following morning, Lucian brought Rocky to rescue Thomas. The natural beauty of the line blew the tank engine away as he was placed onto a flatbed to be taken to the Steamworks.

"I can see why you like working here, Lucian. This place is beautiful!" Thomas gasped. Lucian grinned proudly.

"It is quite nice, isn't it? I'd love to have you work up here again, the more the merrier!" Lucian smiled at his new friend and Thomas smiled back.

"Maybe. When I'm not busy on my own branch line, of course!" Thomas laughed, and the two friends chattered together all the way to the Steamworks.

* * *

Thomas' repairs took a long time, a month in fact, and all his friends came to visit him at the Steamworks. One day, Lucian arrived. He had a mischievous grin on his face.

"Hello, Lucian!" Thomas smiled.

"Hello, Thomas! You know how you said that you wanted to make up for being scared of me?" Thomas blushed in embarrassment.

"Yes, what about it?" Lucian snickered.

"I think I figured out a way you can…"

* * *

When Thomas' repairs were completed, he returned to Tidmouth Sheds. The other engines were all in their berths when Thomas backed in. James grinned.

"Welcome back, Thomas. How was working with ol' were-engine?" James snickered. Thomas grinned right back. James was surprised to see a pair of fangs among the teeth in Thomas' mouth.

"Fine, thanks!" James' eyes were wide with surprise. Before the red engine could say anything else, Thomas looked up and saw the full moon in the sky.

"AHOO!" Thomas howled. James was shocked as Thomas' howling rang throughout the yard. And through the night, try as he might, James didn't sleep a wink. When he was exhausted the following day, Thomas and his new friend Lucian wouldn't let him forget about were-engines for several weeks!

 **THE END**

* * *

Lucian's a character I've wanted to write about for a while. He is based on the GER A55, or the "Decapod" locomotive. This was actually my second attempt at writing this story; the first I reached total writer's block. Lucian's an engine who is very in touch with nature and as a result can be rather awkward, as he communicates with more animals than other engines. I personally would like to see Lucian appear again, but I want to let him breathe a bit as a character. The Scenic Line runs from Killdane station through the forest behind it, and Lucian seems like the perfect engine to run it. Please leave a review on what you thought of this story, my other ones, and what'd you like to see from me next. As always, on the backburner:

\- _Boring Old Frank -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _The Sodor Spectre -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Accident-Free_ \- (see previous chapters)

\- _Logan and Hector -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Duncan and Lenora -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Don't Loo About -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Harvey Takes a Stand -_ Harvey stands up to Samson for pushing him around, but the consequences may be more dire than he thinks.


	5. Accident-Free

**ACCIDENT-FREE**

Accidents can happen on the Fat Controller's railway. Sometimes, engines overrun signals, or shunt trucks too hard, or go around sharp bends too fast. But there is one engine on the Island of Sodor who has never had an accident: BoCo, the diesel engine who helps Edward run his branch line. One day, the Fat Controller came to see BoCo in his shed.

"Good morning, BoCo." The Fat Controller was holding a letter. BoCo was intrigued.

"Hello, sir." BoCo said politely, "If you don't mind me asking, sir, what is that letter you're holding?" The Fat Controller smiled.

"I need you to come to Knapford station tonight. The employee of the year awards are there this evening, and we want to give you an award for never having an accident throughout all your years of service on this railway." BoCo was surprised at first, but he beamed with pride.

"Yes, sir. I'll be there tonight, sir!"

"That's a good engine, BoCo. Now go about your work as normal." The Fat Controller walked away, but BoCo was ecstatic.

* * *

When BoCo saw Edward at Wellsworth, he told him about his award.

"That's a big honour, BoCo, but don't let it get to your head now," Edward said sternly, "Don't want to ruin your award by having an accident!"

"Of course, Edward." BoCo agreed, "But it certainly is exciting, isn't it? I never thought that I could get an award of all engines!" The two engines laughed, and failed to notice a black shape slinking into the yards behind them. The guard's whistle blew.

"I've a train to take. Goodbye, Edward!" BoCo called as he rolled out of the station. Edward headed off to do some shunting. However...

"Hmph," Devious Diesel grunted from his siding, and rolled off to do more work.

* * *

"Why does BoCo get an award?" Later that day, Diesel complained to Norman as they went about their shunting at the Dieselworks.

"BoCo has been a member of our fleet for quite an extended period of time and has gone entirely free of derailments. Considering the daily occurrences on this railway, that alone deserves some variety of recognition." Norman explained, but Diesel simply rolled his eyes.

"I do much harder work than BoCo, and he gets all the appreciation for it! Why don't _I_ get a reward?" He grumbled.

"Keep in mind, Diesel, with all the mishaps on this railway, I wouldn't be surprised if BoCo's reward was annulled very soon..." Norman chuckled at his own wit, but this gave Diesel an idea.

"Yes...I'll make that BoCo accident-free no more!" Diesel snickered, and snuck out of the yard to begin his scheme. Norman was surprised.

"Diesel? Where are you going?" Norman gaped. But Diesel had already left the yard.

"Imbecile..." Norman returned to his shunting.

* * *

BoCo had gone to Brendam Docks to pick up an important load. Diesel slid into the harbour and spotted the big green diesel speaking to Salty.

"These trucks are full of antiques for Ulfstead Castle, eh, me harty?" Salty chuckled.

"Indeed. I better be careful; don't want to break anything or the Fat Controller will be cross." BoCo heard the guard's whistle and began to start off, "Goodbye, Salty! See you later for my China Clay train!"

"Goodbye, matey!" Salty called. Diesel grinned; this was his chance.

"He's making this _far_ too easy!" He sped forward and began chasing after BoCo, cutting Salty off from moving forward.

"Diesel!" Salty cried as he saw Diesel speed ahead, "Watch where you're going!" But Diesel was already around the bend, trailing BoCo's long line of fragile trucks.

* * *

BoCo moved slowly along the main line, the trucks trundling along behind him. He wasn't moving fast at all, but he didn't mind. It gave him time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. As BoCo rolled along, Gordon thundered by with the express.

"Aren't you going to go faster, BoCo?" Gordon called, "You don't to be late now!" BoCo chuckled.

"No thank you, Gordon. I've a fragile load! Don't want to damage anything, you know." Unbeknownst to BoCo, Diesel was trailing the train, snickering to himself. He then sped up and gave the trucks a hard bump.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" The trucks groaned. They didn't realize that it was Diesel who had bumped them; they thought that it was BoCo!

"We're carrying delicate items, you know!" The truck closest to BoCo shouted. BoCo raised an eyebrow.

"I'm well aware. Why, what happened?" Diesel heard BoCo's voice and decided to go for another bump. He surged into the trucks, causing them to scream in pain.

"You're bumping us around you great green buzzbox!" Shouted the truck, "Now stop it!" BoCo was confused.

"I've done no such thing!" BoCo shouted, "Who's back there!?" Diesel realized that he had been found out and began to slow down. However, the trucks had seen him, and began to call out.

"It's that Diesel!" They shouted, but BoCo didn't know what they meant. Diesel quickly braked and came to a stop, allowing BoCo's train to move ahead.

"Which one?" BoCo asked, but Diesel was already out of sight.

"Well, he's gone now..." The trucks chattered, leaving BoCo to roll his eyes. The big diesel continued on, while Diesel furiously began to move again, several yards back,

"Well, that was a bust," Diesel muttered, but he suddenly heard a horn and quickly raced onto a siding. To his surprise, the Fat Controller and Winston were speeding along the line.

"Please, slow down, sir! I'm not meant to go this fast!" Winston cried.

"Not until I find Diesel and give him a piece of my mind! Running off from his work, where is he?" The duo continued down in the other direction, leaving Diesel to continue down the line after BoCo.

* * *

At Ulfstead Castle, BoCo arrived with his fragile load. The Earl and Millie were excitedly waiting for him. The Earl clapped his hands excitedly when BoCo rolled up to the platform.

"Which Diesel? Maybe it's the engine, Diesel. Yes, that makes sense, I..." BoCo's muttering was interrupted by the Earl.

"Hello, BoCo! It's so pleasant to see you! I trust you've taken good care of my precious cargo!" Workmen unloaded the trucks, and began inspecting the crates. One of the men walked over to the Earl.

"Nothing's damaged, sir." He said, and the Earl grinned.

"Very good, BoCo. The Fat Controller knew just what to do when he sent you!" BoCo smiled proudly, but as the Earl left he whispered to Millie.

"I don't how I got everything here in one piece, honestly. The trucks were all over the place the whole way there. They claimed Diesel was bumping them, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of Diesel the whole way here. I think they were just being cheeky." BoCo explained, and Millie raised an eyebrow.

"Diesel? Zat is funny, I have not seen Diesel all day...the trucks were probably just teasing you, BoCo."

"I know, it just seems very specific for them to make that up..." As BoCo and Millie talked, the engine of the hour himself rolled up the hill and into the gates of the castle. He saw BoCo and tried to hide, but he was caught.

"Diesel!" BoCo called, "What are you doing here?"

"Er...I had to come up to pick up some...trucks! Very important, so I'll just be getting those..." Diesel rushed past. BoCo was surprised, but tried to call out.

"Diesel, were you behind my train to-Oh bother. Well, see you Millie, I must be off." BoCo began to leave again with his now empty trucks, but Diesel had turned around and was chasing after BoCo again.

"Au revoir, BoCo. Oh, by ze way, congratulations on your award!" Millie was surprised to see Diesel speed past after BoCo.

"Diesel? Where are you going?" But Diesel was already through the gates and down the hill after BoCo and his trucks.

"You're not getting that award, BoCo! Mark my words!" Diesel shouted as he chased BoCo down the hill.

"Did you say something?" BoCo asked the trucks, but he got no response. BoCo then headed up to the Smelter's Yard to pick up his iron train, with Diesel trailing behind.

* * *

Diesel followed BoCo to the Smelter's Yard, and hid on a siding. BoCo waited patiently for 'Arry and Bert to come to take his trucks away. This give Diesel an idea.

"Yes...when his trucks are loaded...I'll do it." Diesel snickered, and watched to wait for the right moment.

"Well, if it ain't Mister accident-free!" 'Arry sneered as he and Bert rolled alongside BoCo. BoCo raised an eyebrow.

"Afternoon, gentlemen. I take it that news of my award has reached all the way down here?" Bert snickered.

"Somethin' like that, mate. My brother and I would like to offer our most uh...sincere congratulations." The Ironworks twins let out deep laughter, causing BoCo to roll his eyes.

"Thanks. By the way, do you two know what's been up with Diesel today? He seemed to be acting really strange up at Ulfstead Castle today, and my trucks said they saw him behind the train on the way up there." 'Arry snorted.

"Do we look like 'is babysitters, mate? We 'aven't seen 'im all day. Not that we care. Now do you want us to shunt your trucks, or do you just wanna keep up the small talk?" The twins rolled away to fetch BoCo's trucks, laughing. BoCo glared.

"Sorry I asked..." He muttered, and waited patiently for his load of iron. He heard a horn, and was surprised to see the Fat Controller and Winston roll into the yard. They braked to a stop, and the Fat Controller got out.

"Hello, sir!" BoCo said, "Is something wrong? You look upset." The Fat Controller looked mad. Winston just looked sick and was glad to have stopped.

"Yes indeed, there is, BoCo. Diesel has been shirking off from his work and I last saw him coming here. I need to have a chat with him about skipping work!" Diesel knew that this was his last chance to get BoCo in an accident; he couldn't let him get that award! Bert shunted BoCo's trucks into place behind him, and Diesel took his chance. He surged through the yard, and tried to hit BoCo's trucks. However, he didn't realize that the points were set against him!

"Whoa!" Diesel cried, and came off the rails with a dull bump, colliding with a pile of scrap. BoCo and the Fat Controller were shocked, and when the dust cleared, Diesel was atop some scrap, groaning.

"Oh..." Diesel moaned in pain, and looked down to find the Fat Controller standing in front of him.

"Diesel!" He sternly shook his finger, "Where have you been!? You've had work to do that hasn't been done!" Diesel wanted to lie, but realized that he had nowhere to run, and admitted defeat.

"I've been following BoCo, sir, trying to get him in an accident." The Fat Controller looked surprised, while Diesel looked down in shame, "I don't see how it's fair that BoCo gets an award when I never get any appreciation for all the hard work I do." BoCo raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, the Fat Controller spoke.

"Diesel...BoCo's award has nothing to do with hard work. BoCo's award is based on the fact that he has never had an accident in all his years of service on this railway." The Fat Controller shook his head, "If you can't accept another engine getting an award while you don't, it appears as if you are a sore loser, Diesel, and nobody likes a sore loser. You should be able to accept defeat in stride, Diesel." Diesel was deeply embarrassed.

"Y-yes, I know, sir. Sorry, BoCo." BoCo smiled warmly.

"It's alright, Diesel." Diesel smiled right back, but the Fat Controller had more to say.

"As soon as you are repaired, Diesel, you are working with BoCo until I am absolutely sure that you have learned your lesson. Is that clear?" Diesel smiled meekly.

"Y-yes, sir." Diesel looked down. The Fat Controller turned to BoCo.

"After you deliver those trucks, BoCo, go to the Dieselworks for a cleaning before the awards ceremony.

"Certainly, sir." BoCo started off, leaving Diesel to think about what he had done.

* * *

That night, BoCo headed to Knapford Station, where the Fat Controller and a crowd of important people were waiting. He rolled into the platform, where the Fat Controller greeted him, and began his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is certainly not a secret that accidents can happen on my railway. But there is one engine that has never had an accident, and up to this point has gotten no appreciation for it. So, I would like to present this award for 'Outstanding Conduct of Railway Safety' to BoCo, the diesel engine!" The people applauded as a plaque was brought out and propped up against BoCo's front. BoCo smiled proudly. Just then, Harvey rolled through the station, pulling Diesel behind him.

"Congratulations, BoCo!" Harvey called as he and Diesel rolled through. BoCo tooted back. Harvey looked back to the embarrassed Diesel behind him.

"Aren't ye gonna say something, Diesel?" Harvey asked, and Diesel gritted his teeth.

"Congratulations, BoCo!" Diesel called, and BoCo was glad to be appreciated. However, as Harvey and Diesel rolled down the line, Diesel's forced smile had turned to a scowl.

"Oh well," sighed Harvey, "It's the thought that counts!"

 **THE END**

* * *

Diesel is a very fun character to write for. This story's cast sort of came to me as I wrote it. Diesel and BoCo were locks for the two main parts, and I used more of a diverse cast as the story went along, highlighting characters like the Earl and Millie, 'Arry and Bert, and even giving Harvey a small appearance at the end. BoCo's a character I really hope appears again, as he can be different from Edward simply from the interactions he has. Are there any other characters who you wish for me to write a returnee story for? Leave a review and tell me what you think! As always:

\- _Boring Old Frank -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _The Sodor Spectre -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Logan and Hector -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Duncan and Lenora -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Don't Loo About -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Harvey Takes a Stand -_ (see previous chapters)

\- _Gordon and Bear -_ Gordon is horrified when he finds out that he will now be splitting his express duties with Bear, a diesel who recently came to Sodor.


	6. George Strikes Again

**GEORGE STRIKES AGAIN**

One day, Bertie the Bus was taking the road alongside the main line with some passengers. He was cruising comfortably, that is, until he reached a section of road near Elsbridge. The road was very bumpy, and Bertie was being jerked about, as were his passengers. His driver struggled to regain control as Bertie bumped along.

"Not much longer, old boy!" said Bertie's driver. But there was trouble ahead. There was a large pothole is the road. Bertie tried to avoid it, but his front tire hit the hole with a "BUMP!" Bertie's passengers were jerked about in their seats, but no one had been hurt. Bertie, however, had gotten a flat tire, and had to wait to be rescued.

Butch soon arrived to tow Bertie to the mechanic, and another bus took the passengers onwards to the station. The Transport Minister was not pleased when he heard what had happened.

"This won't do at all." He said, and he quickly reached for his telephone and punched in a number.

* * *

George the Steamroller was feeling very sorry for himself. He had been very naughty and caused a nasty accident for the Fat Controller's engines. As a result, he had had his rollers removed and sent to work at a sawmill, where he powered one of the machines for a week. His rollers had been returned to him, but he wasn't allowed back out on the road. He now stayed in a shed not far from the sawmill's main offices, and was beginning to gather dust.

"It's all those stupid _engines'_ fault!" grumbled George furiously, as a spider began to make a web on his funnel. "I can't wait to get out of here. Then I'd really show them roads are better than rails…I'd flatten em' all, one by one."

George's threats were idle ones though, and he was completely aware of it. He was destined to stay in the shed for eternity, and that was that. Or at least he thought, as he was very surprised to see two men stroll up to him. One was his driver, and the other a lanky gentleman in a bowler cap, the Transport Minister.

"Now, listen here George." Said the Transport Minister, and George's driver brushed away the cobwebs, "The roads down near Elsbridge are terrible, so I'm sending you and a group of workmen to fix them so the buses, cars, and lorries can run on them once more. I don't want any of your, ahem, _usual_ behavior. Understood."

"Of course, sir." Said George quietly. But as soon as the Transport Minister's back was turned, a maniacal grin flashed across George's face.

"Revenge, railway freaks…."

* * *

Percy was fed up. He had had a long day of pushing and pulling trucks, and now was being sent to pick up an important load from the Sawmill.

"…And of all the rotten times to get sent to pick up 'important machinery'!" finished Percy, after a particularly hefty rant. His driver chuckled.

"Don't worry, Percy. We're almost there." He soothed, but Percy still grumbled. Percy's grumbling ceased however, when he saw what his load was.

"GEORGE?" said Percy in amazement, as the steamroller stood perched upon a low-loader. George gave a sleazy grin and stared at Percy.

"Hello there, Percy." Smiled George through his teeth. The Transport Minister walked alongside the cab and begun explaining George's role to Percy's crew.

"George is going to fix a particularly bad stretch of road near Elsbridge Junction. He'll be working for a few weeks getting the job done, and he's on strict probation. If you see anything that even _resembles_ him causing trouble, report it to me or Sir Topham."

Percy's crew agreed, and the train soon set off. Percy was trundling along cab-first, and was facing George as a result. As soon as they were out of sight, George's grin changed. It went from a forced smile, to a downright maniacal smirk, as the steamroller stared at Percy.

"Well well well. If it isn't my old pal, the goblin." Growled George.

"No funny business, George." Smirked Percy right back, "You can easily go back to that sawmill."

George's smirk turned to a glare.

"You think they'll believe you? I'm a better actor than you think, train wreck. I can easily play innocent, and there isn't a thing you can do about it. I'm going to crush you, you little green dwarf, and all of your puny railway friends." George then began to laugh. Percy was terrified. All that time alone had caused George to become a tad unhinged, to say the least.

By the end of the journey, it was very dark, and the engines were fast asleep when Percy returned to the sheds that night. They weren't aware of the trouble that awaited them…

* * *

Every morning, on Thomas' Branch Line, Rosie usually has the first train of the day, taking empty trucks down to the big station so BoCo can take them to the China Clay Pits on Edward's Branch Line. This job is very important, and Rosie takes great pride in it. Rosie was due to leave with her trucks early that morning, but there was trouble. As Rosie pulled out of the station, her driver suddenly pulled the brake and stepped down.

"What's wrong? Why'd we stop?" Asked Rosie, her driver looked up.

"There's…cement on the line, Rosie." Said her driver, "Now who could've…"

They suddenly heard a whistle, followed by a melody all the engines knew and loathed.

 _"Railways are no good! Turn 'em into roads for good! Tear 'em up, Rip 'em up, Tear 'em up, Rip 'em up, Tear em' up, turn them into roads!"_

"George…" growled Rosie, as the Steamroller innocently whistled pass. Rosie was twenty minutes behind schedule when she finally managed to leave the station and the cement was cleared from the line. But this wasn't the worst of George's "revenge". Every train from Elsbridge was late throughout that day, but no one had definite proof that it was George. George grinned at his own cleverness.

"Roads are always better than railways, rail-losers!" He sneered.

* * *

That evening, Toby was passing through the station with a stone train, just as George was hauling some machinery to the other side of the road. George saw his opportunity, and shook his driver off as they reversed, causing the heavy machinery to crash through the fence and move towards the line. Toby tried to stop, but he couldn't in time and collided with the machinery, coming off the line in the process.

"Sorry, b…Toby!" said George with false concern, "My driver lost his balance and I crashed through the fence. I'm sorry!" George then grinned evilly to himself. Toby wasn't focused on George, however.

"My cowcatchers!" Toby cried, and sure enough they were absolutely mangled. It took every ounce of grit in George's boiler to prevent him from bursting out laughing.

* * *

That evening, Paxton came to pick up Toby and take him to the Steamworks.

"Are you alright, Toby?" Paxton asked, but Toby sighed.

"I will be, but I'll need all sorts of repairs to get this fixed." When The Fat Controller found out, he was furious. But not with Toby.

"Toby, I know this wasn't your fault. I don't know why they insisted on bringing back that hazard..." he muttered to himself. At Tidmouth Sheds later that night, he addressed the dilemma.

"I'm sending Charlie to fill Toby's duties while he's at the Steamworks. I trust that you all can shunt your own trains until he is repaired."

"Yes, sir!" said the engines. But secretly they were all worried; they didn't know if Charlie could handle George.

* * *

The following morning, Charlie arrived at Elsbridge. His first job was to shunt trucks at the junction, where George was harassing Thomas. The steamroller had spilled cement on the line again, and was feigning innocence when Thomas tried to give him a piece of his mind.

"It's the mixer, I tell you!" protested George, "Faulty thing is constantly tipping over."

"Faulty mixer, my eye!" shouted Thomas, who was truly fed up, "You did this! Just like you've caused every train leaving from this station to be late since you arrived, and just like how you put Toby out of service for who knows how long to get his cowcatchers repaired!" George's eyebrows rose innocently.

"I haven't done a thing. I'm a changed roller." He said, and gave a big toothy grin.

"Why you-"

Charlie smirked thoughtfully as Thomas shouted at George.

"This joke will be my best yet!" He began making a plan to get back at the troublesome steamroller.

* * *

One of Toby's jobs that Charlie had to do in his absence was to pick up a new load of cement for George and the workmen to use, as their old load was almost depleted. Charlie was to have the wagon shunted onto his goods train, and take both the train and the cement wagon to Elsbridge. Charlie's plan was put into action. He stopped at the halt, and had begun to take on water. Philip shunted the wagon into place behind him, but before they could couple it up…

"Oh, driver!" Charlie wailed, "My wheels hurt, I need to stop!"

"Come on over here, we need men to hold this up!" Charlie's fireman said. The men did, even though there was nothing "wrong" with Charlie. This was just all part of the plan. In all the commotion, the cement wagon hadn't been coupled up, and Charlie left the station without it.

"Step 1: Done!" grinned Charlie as he sped off towards Elsbridge.

* * *

Charlie pulled into the siding that was right next to the road. George was resting when Charlie arrived.

"About time!" growled George, "Load up the cement already!" Charlie's face feigned shock; he was a better actor than George was.

"Oh, bother. It appears that I left it back at the station." Said Charlie innocently, "Don't worry, I'll go back and get it." Charlie suddenly began coughing, and smoke and steam flew everywhere.

"I can't go on!" groaned Charlie. George rolled his eyes.

"I'll go…" He grumbled, "If you want something done right you do it yourself." George then chuffered away down the road. Charlie grinned; his trick had worked!

"When he gets back, he'll be very late indeed, and the foreman is bound to be cross…" Little did Charlie know his trick was going to work better than he expected…

* * *

The route to the station by road went through a village near the bottom of a steep hill. George was approaching the crossing when his driver looked over in worry.

"We're almost out of water!" he called to George, "We'll have to stop at the station and get more."

George's tank was empty sooner than expected however, and he ended up breaking down right on the crossing. His driver groaned.

"I'll walk to the next station and get help!" he said, and he took off after putting up warning flags. All George could do now was sit and wait.

However, there was trouble near the top of the hill. Percy was pushing a heavy line of trucks from the coal mines up one side of the hill. The couplings were old, and the trucks were hard to control.

"Come on, you silly things!" he snorted as he reached the top.

However, the rusty coupling attaching Percy and the front truck together couldn't take the strain, and the trucks broke free.

"Whee!" The trucks yelled, "On! On! On!"

"Oh no!" wailed Percy, but the trucks were already speeding down the hill. Percy gave chase, but there was no way he would be able to catch them before they entered the village.

George was still sitting on the crossing waiting for help when he heard a low rumble echoing around him.

"What on Sodor…" he began, but his eyes widened when he saw the trucks surging down the line towards him.

"HELP!" he cried, but he couldn't move.

"On! On! On! The trucks surged forwards and rammed straight into George, sending him flying backwards into a pond beside the line. George landed with a loud "SPLASH!"

"OW!" George wailed. The force of hitting George slowed the trucks right down to a standstill. Percy steamed in and was very surprised to find the trucks had stopped.

"How did that happen?" He then looked to the pond and grimaced.

"Oh dear…" Percy winced at the sight before him. George's boiler had a large dent in it from the impact, and his funnel had a large crack down the side of it. He was covered in mud and seaweed, and one of his rollers had come clean off the axle. He groaned in pain as a fish tried to shake itself down from atop his smokebox.

"Are you alright, George?" asked Percy.

George could only give a pained moan in reply.

* * *

George's driver was soon enough back, with Butch, and George was pulled from the lake and onto a low loader, hauled by Charlie, whose face was twisted with the simultaneous experience of hilarity and guilt.

"Did you get the cement?" asked Charlie with slight hesitation and sheepishness. George's eye twitched.

"You tricked me!" he shouted in fury, "Once I'm repaired and my roller's back on, I swear I'll…"

"George!" said a sharp voice, and the steamroller shut his mouth instantly.

The Fat Controller and the Transport Minister walked up to the wounded steamroller. To George, and Charlie's, surprise, they were both smiling.

"George, that was very brave of you. You stopped a disaster from happening, even at the cost of damaging yourself. You've proved yourself to be a really useful steamroller today! You're a hero!" praised the Fat Controller.

George spluttered; his revenge wasn't supposed to go this way at all!

"George, I'm getting you repaired and returning you to the roads as soon as possible!" said the Transport Minister, "Your work has been good!"

George's eyes bulged.

"But…all of the…"

"Accidents." Said the Transport Minister, still smiling. George's jaw dropped and Charlie snickered.

"I DID THOSE ON PURPOSE!" shouted George, but the Transport Minister was already walking away.

* * *

Charlie begun hauling George to the mechanic, George was ranting and raving the whole way.

"YOU MISERABLE RAIL-THING! NOW I LOOK LIKE A WIMPY PANSY! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU WRETCHED…"

George had a taller funnel than most steam vehicles, and it still stood tall despite all the damage the steamroller had taken. As he Charlie rolled along the line, It happened to hit a branch that housed a wasp's nest. It fell straight into the steamroller's funnel. George writhed in pain as the wasps flew out and stung his face.

"YOW!" he cried, "I'LL-OUCH-HAVE MY REVENGE! ROADS ARE-OH, THAT STINGS-SUPERIOR!"

But Charlie could only chuckle, as George screamed and yowled the whole way home.

 **THE END**

* * *

Surprise! Bet you didn't expect this to come around. I was doing some digging on my hard drive and found this old story, and found it to be pretty good. So I did some edits here and there, and voila! George has always been one of my favorite characters, and I think he deserves to come back more than any other character at this point, with the possible exception of BoCo, Duke, and Terence. His rail-hating ways instantly had me think of a way to use an engine against him, and Charlie was an instant fit. Seeing as this is my second returnee story, the next one should be pretty run of the mill. However, doesn't mean it won't be good! Up next:

\- _Boring Old Frank_

\- _The Sodor Spectre_

\- _Duncan and Lenora_

\- _Logan and Hector_

\- _Don't Loo About_

\- _Harvey Takes a Stand_

\- _Gordon and Bear_


	7. Boring Old Frank

**BORING OLD FRANK**

One day, on the Arlesdale Railway, a boy and his mother were waiting for their train. The boy was excited to look at all the engines.

"Look, mummy! It's Bert! He's so kind!" The boy pointed across the yard where Bert was gently backing down onto the coaches. Bert heard the boy and smiled proudly. However, something else got the boy's attention.

"Look, mummy! It's Rex! He's so smart!" Rex rolled alongside Mike, who was struggling to leave with his ballast hoppers. He raised an eyebrow smugly.

"Check the brakes on those hoppers, Mike!" Rex chuckled, much to Mike's fury. Mike's crew went back and lifted the brakes on the hoppers. Mike grunted and started off. The boy pointed again.

"Look, mummy! It's Mike! He's so strong!" Mike grinned proudly and pulled the heavy hoppers out of the yard. As Mike left, another engine entered the yard, pulling a maintenance train. He was a small grey diesel, with a lamp right above his face. He smirked proudly and pulled into the station. He waited expectantly for his compliment. However, the boy simply gave him a quick glance, before looking away, disinterested.

"Oh, look. It's Frank." The boy then boarded his train and they began to pull away. Bert, at the head of the train, snorted with laughter, but Frank scowled. He grumbled away to the sheds, now in a rotten mood.

* * *

"It's not fair!" Frank whined that night in the sheds.

"Here we go again..." Mike grumbled.

"I do so much work on this line, and I don't get an ounce of appreciation for any of it! The passengers are always praising you lot! They say 'oh, Bert is so kind and Rex is so smart and Mike is so strong'! When I show up, I'm just Frank. Just boring old Frank." Frank huffed indignantly. Rex rolled his eyes.

"Well, Frank, maybe if you actually went out pulled a train instead of idling in the yard and complaining about nothing, you wouldn't be boring old Frank anymore!" He smirked, but Frank grunted in disgust.

"I'm not boring!" Frank snapped.

"But, err, Frank, you just said..." Bert meekly spoke up, but Frank cut him off.

"I'm not!" Frank shouted, approaching hysterics. Mike snorted with laughter.

"Your voice gets squeaky when your angry, Frank." Frank's eye twitched before shouting, several octaves higher than before.

"Fine! I don't need your sympathy! I'll make them see that I'm special!" Frank was off in a huff, his face bright red. The small engines looked among themselves.

"Is he going to be alright?" Bert asked, worried. Rex rolled his eyes.

"This isn't the first time he's stormed out of the sheds to cry on a siding." He chuckled.

"This week!" Mike put in, and the three small engines laughed.

* * *

The following day, Frank returned to work. He grumpily shunted hoppers onto the chute for Duck to take away, and rolled alongside. His eyes were slightly red from his hysterical crying the previous night. The Great Western engine was concerned.

"You alright, Frank?" Duck raised an eyebrow.

"I'm fine."

"You sure? Because, if you need to talk to somebody, I-"

"I. AM. FINE." Frank's eyes bulged in fury. Duck winced.

"Sorry I asked..." Duck muttered. However, Frank began to hysterically ramble.

"Well, I feel like I never get appreciated for my uniqueness. Everyone just goes on and on about how great Rex, Mike, and Bert are and they never give me a compliment! It really takes a toll on an engine's system, y'know. And-"

"Frank, if you want someone to appreciate how different you are, why don't you show how you handle situations in a different way than Rex or Bert or Mike? That way, everyone can see how special you are!" Duck smiled, but Frank's mind was already drowning in ideas.

"Yes! I'll do just that! Thank you, Duck!" Frank sped away, causing Duck to awkwardly chuckle at his loneliness.

* * *

Frank had to go down to the ballast mines for his first job of the day: a ballast train. When Frank arrived, he saw Bert gently backing down onto some hoppers.

"Easy does it, guys. Nice and easy." Bert gently backed down onto the hoppers, and they didn't make one screech of complaint as he pulled away.

"I could do that..." Frank muttered, and he rolled down onto his hoppers. He initially took it nice and slow.

"Easy, easy..." Frank called to the ballast hoppers, as he reversed towards them. The hopper closest to Frank raised an eyebrow, and watched as a passing tortoise outsped Frank with ease.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" She snorted, "We're on a schedule here, Franky. We don't have time for you to be racing snails." The hopper chuckled at her own wit, "Ay, lads, racing snails. What a _boring_ thing to do in your free time, eh?" The hoppers all had a good laugh, but Frank sped up.

"Who are you lot calling boring!?" Frank shouted, and banged into the hoppers, causing them to howl in pain.

"Watch it, Franky!" The hopper from before shouted in pain, but Frank was livid.

"I am _not_ boring!" Frank screamed in high-pitched rage, and bumped the hoppers hard again.

"Ouch!" But before Frank could bump them again, he realized something and came to a stop.

"Darn it...I blew my chance to be kinder than Bert." Frank sighed miserably as he was coupled up and started along his way.

* * *

As Frank rolled along the line, he spotted the end of a long ballast train sitting on the line in front of him.

"Bert? Is that you?"

"Yes, Frank, it's me. I can't get steam up. I think you're going to have to push me back up to the junction." Frank sighed.

"No problem, Bert. Just keep your brakes off, alright?" And Frank pushed Bert back to the top station at Arlesburgh Junction.

* * *

Frank arrived back at Arlesburgh, where he pushed Bert onto a siding. Bert smiled.

"Thanks, Frank. That was very helpful of you. Frank? Frank?" But Frank wasn't listening. He was watching Rex, across the yard. Rex was helping to usher some sheep back into their trucks so they could be taken to market by one of the big engines. The men were trying to grab the sheep one by one, but they kept getting out. Rex, however, had a better idea.

"Close them in around the truck. I have something that may work." The men did so, and Rex wheeshed hard. The sheep were scared, and fled into the truck as they had nowhere else to run. The men slammed the door and congratulated themselves on a job well-done. Rex grinned proudly and returned to his work. Frank scowled.

"I'm smarter than Rex! I can deal with sheep way better than he can!" Frank declared, leaving Bert behind, confused, as he headed off to pick up his maintenance train.

"Err...thanks, Frank?"

* * *

Frank was still grumbling about Rex when he approached a farm that stood beside the railway. It was from this farm that most of the railway's wool came from. Suddenly, Frank saw something on the line and braked to a halt.

"Oh bother." Frank grumbled, as there was a sheep on the line. However, he remembered what he had seen in the yards, and decided to try and get rid of the sheep himself.

"I can't wheesh, so I'll hoot the sheep away, with my horn!" Frank began loudly hooting his horn. He hooted and hooted as loud as he could, but the sheep wouldn't budge.

"Come on! Come on! WHY WON'T YOU JUST GO AWAY!?" Frank's tooting gradually became more and more frantic. Eventually, the farmer appeared at the top of the hill, and he was furious.

"What are you being so loud for, you stupid engine?" Frank stopped tooting and looked down in embarrassment.

"There, um, a sheep on the line, er, sir." The farmer crossed his arms.

"Well, the farmhouse is right up here. You got have just gotten me to take the sheep away!" Frank turned red in shame.

* * *

After the farmer had taken the sheep away, Frank continued on. He felt silly after the whole affair with the sheep, and just wanted a quiet job. However, as he approached the junction, he spotted Rex, who was in a jam with his ballast hoppers. One of the hoppers towards the middle of the train had had its bogies switched onto separate lines.

"Hello, Frank! One of my hoppers got crossed lines, and I can't push them back from my end...could you please help me and pull the rest of the hoppers backwards so I could get everything aligned again?" Frank had to pull his maintenance train, but he had time to spare, so he decided to help.

"Sure, Rex." Frank was coupled up to the trucks and pulled them backwards, realigning the bogies, and allowing Rex to continue on.

"Thanks, Frank! That was quite help-" However, Rex was cut off by a loud whistle. Rex and Frank watched as Mike puffed in with a long line of ballast hoppers.

"Make way for the ballast express!" Mike called, puffing hard. Rex rolled his eyes.

"That's just your normal train, plus Bert's from 3:30, Mike. I'd hardly call that an 'express'." Rex smirked, while Mike snorted.

"I don't need your approval, Rex. My strength does all the talking _for_ me!" Mike grinned and started off again. Rex chuckled.

"So full of hot air, eh, Frank?" But Frank was deep in thought.

"I'm stronger than Mike!" Frank backed away from Rex's train and headed down to the ballast pits.

* * *

Down at the pits, Frank had gathered up a large line of ballast hoppers. He rolled onto the front and coupled up.

"I'm stronger than Mike! I'm not boring!" Frank began to try and pull out, when the Small Controller walked over.

"Frank? What on earth are you doing?" He was unamused.

"S-sir, I have to pull all these hoppers for um...personal...reasons..." Frank feebly lied. The Small Controller raised an eyebrow.

"Well, whatever those reasons are, they certainly aren't being helpful." The Small Controller said, but Frank realized something.

"Helpful...?" Frank remembered what Bert and Rex had said to him earlier that day.

"Helpful...that's what I am! I'm helpful Frank! Not boring Frank, haha!" Frank was overjoyed, but the Small Controller was confused.

"Frank, it would _be very_ helpful if you went down and helped Mike. He's stuck out on the green, out of sand to pull all those hoppers."

"Yes, sir!" Frank said, and strutted away with pep in every wheel turn.

* * *

Mike had run out of sand, and as a result he was stuck in the middle of the line. He seethed angrily until Frank rolled behind him.

"Stuck out here, Mike?" Frank grinned, "No need to worry, helpful Frank to the rescue!"

"I take it that boring Frank is no more?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Mike." Frank said, "Though I see that stupid Mike is as alive as ever!"

Mike seethed with rage all the way back to the yards.

* * *

That evening, Frank told the other engines of his revelation from that day.

"Good for you, Frank!" Bert smiled.

"Glad to see you're happy again, eh Frank?" Rex chuckled. Mike stayed silent.

"I'm glad that I finally am more than just boring old Frank. I'm helpful Frank, and I'm happy that I'm a really useful engine!" Everyone agreed, even Mike.

From now on, if you visit the Arlesdale Railway, you'll find four small engines working there. There's kind Bert, smart Rex, strong Mike, and helpful Frank. And no one would have it any other way.

 **THE END**

* * *

My main goal with this story was to make Frank distinct from the other Arlesdale engines, and I think I did that well. He's grumpy, emotionally unstable, and rather needy in terms of attention, which I think expands upon his character in the books. Frank's an overall fun character to write for, and he will undoubtedly feature in future Arlesdale stories. Leave a review to tell what you thought! And always, what's next:

\- _Harvey Takes a Stand_

\- _The Sodor Spectre_

\- _Gordon and Bear_

\- _Don't Loo About_

\- _Duncan and Lenora_

\- _Logan and Hector_

\- _Terence's Train -_ Terence the Tractor always boasts of his adaptability, but will he be able to live up to his boasts when he finds an important stone train stuck out in the middle of the line that needs to get to Brendam Docks, and there are no engines around?

\- _Monkey Business -_ Whiff has to deal with an unexpected passenger when he is the only engine available to take bananas to the Animal Park.

\- _The Abominable Snow Engine -_ Sir Handel tricks Luke into going out into the blizzard to spot the Abominable Snow Engine.


	8. The Sodor Spectre (requested by tate310)

**THE SODOR SPECTRE**

One night, Gordon returned late from his evening express. He was very tired, and wanted to sleep. However, it was clear that tonight was one of those nights...

"PEEEEEEEP" Gordon's eyes shot open to hear the sound of a loud whistle. He groaned, and looked over to see Charlie laughing loudly as Percy shook with alarm.

"Hah! You really are scared of the dark, Percy! It's just me!" Charlie chuckled, but Percy was very shaken.

"That wasn't f-funny, Charlie! That really startled me!" Percy glared, "You know I am _not_ afraid of the dark! Why do you keep teasing me about it?"

"It's such an arbitrary fear, Percy! There's absolutely nothing scary about a little darkness; you're being ridiculous!" Gordon rolled his eyes. He didn't like to involve himself in the arguments of little engines. However, before he could go to sleep, Charlie as Percy backed down onto his mail trucks.

"Watch out, Percy! Make sure your lamp's on!" Charlie snickered.

"Be quiet, Charlie!" Percy grumbled as he puffed off into the night.

"Don't want it to go out!" Charlie jeered again. As Percy rolled around the corner, Gordon shot a sharp glare at Charlie.

"Could you be quiet, Charlie? Some of us big engines are trying to sleep!" Gordon grunted. Charlie spluttered in disbelief, before rumbling away to his own shed.

"Oh yes...that's it." Gordon smirked at the silence, before shutting his eyes.

* * *

The following day, Percy and Charlie were sent to the scrapyard to pick up a train of scrap. Charlie was still teasing Percy about the dark, much to the little green engine's chagrin.

"How was your mail run, Percy?" Charlie chuckled.

"Fine, Charlie." Percy grumbled, agitated.

"Was it _dark_?" Charlie smirked, and Percy sped up in annoyance. They pulled into the scrapyard, where Reg was loading their trucks.

"Hello, mates!" Reg smiled, "You have an alright night?"

"It was fine, Reg." Percy gritted his teeth as Charlie grinned.

"Good to know, mate, good to know." Reg smiled, before going back to load more scrap into the trucks. However, as he loaded another load of scrap into a truck, he noticed how tall the pile of scrap was.

"Well, bless me!" Reg looked the tall of pile of scrap up and down, "That doesn't look safe! Percy, could you be a pal and fetch some more trucks from one of the rear sidings?"

"Sure, Reg!" Percy headed off to fetch the trucks. Charlie snickered and began to follow him. He buffered up to a load of scrap on a flatbed.

"This'll be _real_ funny." He chortled. Percy headed into the dark shed and coupled up to the line of Troublesome Trucks. He suddenly looked ahead and saw a tall scrap pile on a truck. To him, it looked like a monster!

"AH!" Percy yelped, and reversed further into the sheds. His trucks hit the buffers and some towards the rear of the train came off the rails. Charlie erupted with laughter as Percy screamed in terror.

"Charlie! That was not funny!" Percy was very upset.

"Yes it was!" The trucks cackled, and Charlie grinned.

"It's just a joke, Percy!" He laughed loud and long, while Percy took the trucks that weren't derailed out the sheds.

"Well, it's rude." Percy muttered as he added to the train. With Charlie chortling in the rear, Percy set off to deliver the scrap.

* * *

That evening, Percy had to return with Butch to help move the scrap trucks back onto the rails. This operation took a long time, and Percy began to be late for his mail run.

"Charlie's been teasing me about being afraid of the dark, but I'm not!" Percy sighed, "I wish there was a way for me to get back at him..."

"Like a trick?" Butch suggested, as he pulled a truck back onto the rails. Percy grinned.

"Yes, Butch! Like a trick!" Percy grinned, "But what could I do?"

"Maybe tell him a ghost story, and scare him in the night?" Reg called from across the yard.

"I don't think I could be very scary..." Percy sighed, "Although I did give Thomas a real fright when I crashed into that cartload of lime and looked like a ghost!" He laughed.

"Plus, it's dangerous to travel along the line at night without the signalman knowing." Butch put in.

"I would have my mail train to pull..." Percy thought, "But how can I get back at Charlie if it's not dark?"

He left after re-railing the final truck, and coupled up to his mail coaches.

* * *

As Percy rumbled along the line, pulling the mail, he thought about how he could get back at Charlie.

"Who's around at night who I can ask to help?" Percy said to himself, "Not Thomas, or Toby..." Suddenly he heard a loud whistle.

"Express coming through!" Gordon thundered on the express line, heading back towards Tidmouth. Percy smirked.

"Yes, he'll be perfect..."

* * *

The following day, Gordon was taking on water before his morning express. Percy, having just returned from taking the mail train, saw him and rolled alongside.

"Good morning, Gordon!" Percy grinned. Gordon raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, Percy." Gordon said, suspicious.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" Percy smiled his widest smile.

"That depends. What kind?" Gordon was unsure.

"I need you to dress up like a ghost for your evening express, so you can scare Charlie!" Percy smiled. Gordon's face was filled with apathy.

"Why would I do that, Percy? Tricks are stupid and immature, and plus, it just causes conflict. Now if you excuse me, I have more important things to do." And with that, Gordon puffed away towards his train.

"How immature..." Gordon scoffed, but he suddenly thought of something.

 _"Yes...That'll teach the_ _ **both**_ _of them..."_

Gordon called out to Percy, who was dejectedly puffing away.

"Actually, yes, Percy, I will help you. Just tell me what I need to do." Percy looked surprised, but then smiled. He told Gordon exactly what he had to do, and Gordon agreed.

"That'll show Charlie!" Percy grinned, and he puffed away. Gordon smirked.

"...and Percy." He muttered, and started off with his morning express.

* * *

After Gordon had left, Percy went to see the Fat Controller.

"Sir, can Charlie pull my mail train tonight? He really wants to!" Percy smiled.

"I don't see why not, Percy." The Fat Controller smiled.

"Thank you, sir!" Percy peeped eagerly, and rolled away to collect his first train.

* * *

Later that day, Percy saw Charlie in the shunting yards.

"How was the dark?" Charlie snickered, but Percy kept up his façade.

"Fine, Charlie." Percy smiled, "I heard you're taking the mail tonight."

"Yeah, the Fat Controller said you wanted _me_ to pull it. Guess you're too scared of the dark to pull it, eh?" Charlie smirked.

"No, no, I'm not scared of the dark. I'm scared of the Sodor Spectre!" Percy explained, trying to sound ghostly,

"What's the Sodor Spectre?" Charlie asked.

"A ghost train, that runs in the night, hooting his ghostly whistle with his coaches full of ghostly passengers." Percy whispered, "They say that he looks for little tank engines to run off the line, so he can feel like it wasn't him who tumbled off that bridge, all those years ago..." Percy finished mysteriously. Charlie looked spooked.

"Oh, um...thanks for the warning, Percy. I must be off now!" He sped away as fast as his wheels could carry him, leaving Percy laughing.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gordon was speaking to BoCo at Wellsworth.

"...and that's why I need you to let Percy pull your china clay train tonight. I'm going to teach those silly little engines that tricks and pranks are immature, and there are much more diplomatic ways of sorting out your problems!" Gordon finished, but BoCo raised an eyebrow.

"Haven't _you_ played tricks before, Gordon? I seem to recall something about 'backing signals'...?" BoCo smirked.

"Ah, yes, well...that was years ago! Besides, it was for a good cause! Now will you help or not?"

"Sure. Having the night off would be nice..." BoCo sighed.

"Excellent!" Gordon grinned, before looking at the clock. "Now if you excuse me, I must continue on." The guard's whistle blew and Gordon steamed onwards.

* * *

That evening, everything was set in motion. Gordon had been done up with streamers and flour at Barrow. Some of his passengers looked a little spooked as they climbed into the coaches. Gordon grinned, before whistling loudly.

"The Sodor Spectre coming through!" Gordon puffed away, and began making as much steam as possible.

* * *

Charlie was puffing down the line with the mail. He was still thinking about Percy's story, and was trying to convince himself it wasn't real by telling terrible jokes to himself.

"What's a ghost's favorite thing to watch? A boo-vie! Haha...oh, no." It wasn't working.

"Snap out of it, Charlie! There's no such thing as ghosts! There's no such thing as ghosts..." Charlie muttered to himself as he rolled into Wellsworth. The mail was loaded and unloaded as he continued his mantra, and Charlie left the station. As he left, the points switched behind him to let the next train through: the China Clay train from the docks.

* * *

Percy backed down onto his trucks at the docks. He hadn't been happy to find out that he had extra work, but he was glad to at least have a chance to see Charlie scared.

"This'll show him for teasing me.." Percy grinned, and he started off, with the China Clay trucks rattling along behind him.

* * *

Gordon was soaring along the line. He was going so fast that he looked like a white blur to anyone he passed. He was having a wonderful time, and was on the lookout for Charlie and Percy.

"This'll be a lot of fun..." Gordon smirked, and he sped up. Suddenly, he saw Charlie ahead. He was right at the points. Gordon whistled, trying to make it sound as ghostly as possible.

"Whoo! Whoo! I am the Sodor Spectre!" Gordon called, watching as Charlie's face paled, "Get away or I'll catch you! Whoo!" Gordon sped up. Charlie, terrified, began to move backwards as fast as he could.

"Get away! Get away!" Charlie wailed, and sped backwards down the line. Gordon grinned; Step one was done.

* * *

Percy wasn't as fast as BoCo, and the trucks were very heavy, so he was running late.

"Bother those-phew-heavy trucks!" Percy panted. As a result of his lateness, he hadn't cleared his signal yet, and the points were still set onto the branch line. So, when Charlie came speeding into Wellsworth backwards, there was nothing stopping him from heading down the branch line.

"HELP!" Charlie cried, as he rolled over the points and down the branch line and entered a tunnel. Meanwhile, Percy was coming up the line and had just reached the exact same tunnel. He didn't know Charlie was reversing into his section. That is, until he saw a taillamp getting closer and closer to him as he headed up the tunnel.

"Whoa!" Percy cried, and began to try and reverse. The guard jumped clear as Charlie's brakevan plowed into Percy, causing them both to come off the line inside the tunnel.

"We've hit something, Charlie! We have to stop!" The driver braked Charlie to a stop, and he and the fireman went inside the tunnel to investigate. When they came back out, they spoke to Charlie.

"You hit Percy with the China Clay train, Charlie! Now we're both derailed and can't go anywhere until morning!" Charlie was surprised.

"Percy? B-but he's hiding from the Spectre!" He gasped, and scowled.

"He played a trick on me!" He was furious, but couldn't talk to Percy until morning.

* * *

The following morning, the Search and Rescue Team came to rescue Percy and the brakevan, Rocky was too tall to go into the tunnel, so Butch pulled them back onto the rails. When Gordon found out about the derailment, he immediately relinquished his express duties to Henry for the day and sped off to try and help. He rolled in just as Butch pulled Percy out of the tunnel. The Fat Controller was not happy.

"Charlie, why were you reversing with another engine on your road? You know that that is dangerous!" He said sternly.

"S-sorry, sir. Percy played a trick on me and dressed up another engine like a ghost! It scared so much that I ran away, sir." The Fat Controller looked stern.

"Percy? Is this true?"

"Yes, sir. I played a trick on Charlie because he wouldn't stop teasing me about being afraid of the dark, even though I'm not." Percy sighed, "I'm really sorry, Charlie, I didn't mean for this derailment to happen." Gordon looked down and accepted his guilt.

"Excuse me, sir, but they aren't the only ones to blame," Gordon put in, "I also had a part in this plan, and I think I caused the derailment, even though I didn't mean to."

"Gordon? What do you have to do with this?" The Fat Controller scratched his head in confusion.

"Percy dressed me up like a ghost, sir, to scare Charlie. But I was really trying to prove to them that tricks are immature and silly by having Charlie cut Percy off at the points. I didn't mean for a full-on derailment to happen, sir." Gordon closed his eyes sheepishly. However, the Fat Controller looked confused.

"Gordon...are you saying that you were trying to show them how immature tricks were...by playing a trick on them?" Gordon looked shocked.

"W-well, sir, I..."

"Gordon, we call that fighting fire with fire. Even if you had good intentions, stooping to the level of the thing you are trying to stop is not good, nor is it very effective." The Fat Controller sighed, "It appears as if all three of you have something to learn from today. Gordon, you learned that fighting fire with fire doesn't work. Percy, you learned that malice is not the way to get back at someone who is teasing you, and also that you have to be able to take teasing in stride. And Charlie, don't be rude." He took a deep breath, "I hope you all retain these lessons when everything is back to normal."

"Yes, sir." The three engines said, ashamed.

* * *

When Percy was repaired and all the mail had been delivered, the engines returned to their standard work. However, when the three engines went about their other work, they heard the other engines laughing at them.

"Dressing up like a ghost, Gordon?" Thomas grinned as he passed, "It isn't Halloween, you know!" Gordon grumbled as he sped along with the express.

"Whoo! Whoo! Here comes the Sodor Spectre!" Bill called to Charlie, and Ben laughed. Charlie was embarrassed, and continued throughout his shunting.

"Watch out in the tunnels! Might be trains heading backwards, you know!" Stanley called to Percy, who was taking a milk train. The three engines had to deal with a lot of teasing, but they didn't mind. They knew that they had all been silly, and it was alright if teasing was done with no malice in mind!

 **THE END**

* * *

There you have it! This one has been a brainchild for a while, all starting with a request from tate310. I know I advertised this story as having James, but I decided to use Charlie for the role after deciding that it wouldn't make sense due to James learning a similar lesson in Tale of the Brave. Gordon and Percy are a fun bunch to write for as well, and we are sure to see more stories about them in future! Would you like to see a story written? Leave a review and request! Here's upcoming stories, in the order they will most likely be released:

\- _Harvey Takes a Stand_

\- _Terence's Train_

\- _Duncan and Lenora_

\- _Gordon and Bear_

\- _Logan and Hector_

\- _Don't Loo About_

\- _The Abominable Snow Engine_

\- _Monkey Business_


	9. Harvey Takes a Stand

**HARVEY TAKES A STAND**

The Earl of Sodor's Dinosaur Park proved to be very popular. As a result, the dinosaurs needed frequent maintenance. The Earl had rented Samson, an engine from the mainland, to help with this task, and the Fat Controller sent Harvey the Crane Engine to help out as well. The two engines worked together well, but sometimes Samson could be a little rude to Harvey. One day, Samson and Harvey had to move a brand new dinosaur into the park. The dinosaur was very tall and on its hind legs, so Harvey had to be very careful when assembling it. However, Samson was being careless.

"Watch this, Harvey! I'm the strongest engine around! I can push these trucks both forwards and backwards, just as fast!" Samson then began to puff back and forth, bashing the trucks. However, Harvey wasn't paying attention to Samson. He was more focused on precisely placing the parts of the dinosaur so he wouldn't knock it over. Then there was trouble...

"Haha! Samson the Strong, that's m-whoa!" Samson ended up reversing too far and bashed into Harvey. Harvey lost his focus and his arm swung to the side. The part dangling from the arm swung, and slammed into what was already built of the dinosaur. Samson and Harvey watched in horror as the dinosaur toppled over, its parts falling all over the ground. Once the dust had cleared, the men were very cross.

"You silly engines!" The groundskeeper shouted, "That dinosaur took hours to assemble! We'll have to put it back together all over again!" Samson spluttered.

"It wasn't my fault, sir! I-it was Harvey!" Samson gave a sheepish smile, before looking back at Harvey, "Harvey, you great clumsy crane! Watch where you're going!" The groundskeeper raised an eyebrow, and turned to Harvey.

"Well, Harvey. You better hurry up gathering all these parts so we can start over again!" The groundskeeper grumbled away to help the men rig up the parts.

"B-but, But...it wasn't my fault..." Harvey sighed and got to work.

* * *

As Harvey worked to pick up all the dinosaur parts, Stephen puffed in, He had seen the whole incident, and felt sorry for Harvey.

"You shouldn't let Samson push you around, Harvey. That accident was entirely his fault and you both know it. Why do you spend so much time with him?"

"Samson's alright after you get to know him." Harvey said as he lowered another part into place, "He's just a little proud at times." Stephen sighed.

"That's no excuse for him to treat you like dirt, Harvey. You should stand up to Samson and tell him that you don't like being treated this way." Harvey was too busy to pay attention, so Stephen continued on.

"Poor Harvey..." He sighed, and rolled on by. Samson passed on the other line with more trucks, and was clearly guilty about what he had done.

"H-Harvey, I..." Samson tried to say something, but he couldn't get it out before he passed. Harvey sighed and continued his work.

* * *

As the day went on, Harvey and Samson continued their work. However, Samson seemed to be especially reckless that day, as things were constantly going wrong. Flatbeds were coming off the rails, parts were being dropped, and points were being jammed. However, every time it happened, the same conversation occurred.

"It was Harvey!" Samson said quickly after some dinosaur parts had fallen off a flatbed, leaving the crane engine agitated. His patience was beginning to wear thin...

* * *

Later, Harvey and Samson were back at work again, building more dinosaurs. Harvey had been thinking about what Stephen had said.

"Maybe I should say _something_ to Samson..." Harvey said to himself, but he didn't have time to think anymore about it. Samson came speeding in with more trucks...right into the path of the dinosaur head Harvey was carrying!

"Look out, Harvey!" Samson cried, but it was too late. Samson bashed into Harvey's crane arm as he braked to a stop, causing it to spin. Harvey tried to stop it, but the dinosaur head flew off his hook.

"Oh no!" Harvey said. The head landed with a loud "SPLASH" several yards away from the rails as Samson and Harvey looked on in horror. After everything had stopped, Harvey had a completely blank expression.

"Well, it's equally our faults, eh Harvey? Heheheh..." Samson nervously chuckled before looking at Harvey.

"No, it's not. It's all your's." Harvey's face twisted into pure, unadulterated rage, much to Samson's surprise.

"You alright, Harvey?" Samson smiled, although the fear was detectable. Harvey's eye twitched before he finally snapped.

"No, I am not alright, Samson!" Harvey exploded with pure pent-up anger, "Every time I work with you I always get blamed for something you do! You want to know why? Because you are a _stupid, overconfident blowhard_ who doesn't want to face the consequences of your own actions, that's why! I am absolutely sick and tired of you treating me like I'm some kind of blame dummy to just help you in whatever stupid thing you do on a daily basis! I'm absolutely exhausted of everything, Samson! Of building these precise dinosaurs, of working with these stupid troublesome trucks, and especially of _you_!" Harvey's face was bright red, "You know what? I quit! I'm never working with you again as long as my wheels can turn!" And with that, leaving a stunned Samson behind, Harvey left through the tunnel in front of the Dinosaur Park.

"Harvey, wait!" Samson cried, but Harvey was already out of sight. Samson felt awful, but his sadness soon turned into anger.

"Fine!" Samson exclaimed, "I don't need you! I'm perfectly capable of managing on my own! I _am_ the strongest tank engine on Sodor!" And with that, Samson puffed away to try and find a crane.

* * *

Harvey rolled along the line, still very upset.

"I don't need Samson! I can easily find other work!" He stopped at a signal to allow a train to go by, "There's bound to be a job for a crane engine somewhere else on this island!" Harvey called out to Henry, who was passing with a goods train. "Do you need help, Henry?"

"Er, sorry, Harvey. I don't think I do." Henry continued on. Harvey sighed as his signal changed, and he continued on to Maron Station.

"How am I going to get another job?" Harvey thought, but he saw his answer on the station platform.

"Of course, the Fat Controller! He's bound to have a job for me!" He rolled over to the station platform and tooted his whistle. The Fat Controller was startled by the whistle but quickly regained his composure.

"Oh, hello, Harvey!" He said, "What are you doing down here?"

"I can't work with Samson, anymore, sir, so I would like another job from you, please." Harvey smiled. Much to his concern however, the Fat Controller scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Err...sorry, Harvey, but I don't think I actually _have_ another job for you...you could stay here at Maron if you like, until another job opens up." Harvey sighed.

"Yes, sir. I'll do any job that comes in." The Fat Controller hopped aboard his next train, leaving Harvey sadly to reverse onto a siding.

* * *

Meanwhile, up at Ulfstead Castle...

"Where's a blasted crane?" Samson was searching the yards for another crane. Stephen and Millie watched as he practically took the yard apart.

"What is 'appening?" Millie asked Stephen in a hushed voice, as another truck went flying by in Samson's frantic search.

"Harvey, um, quit. So Samson is looking for another crane to help build the dinosaurs..." Stephen replied, as the sound of a cat screeching filled the yards.

"Why on earth would he do that? 'Arvey is usually such a quiet sort." Millie raised an eyebrow. Stephen looked away, his face filled with guilt.

"Well, I may have encouraged Harvey to stand up to Samson and um...he took it a tad too far." Stephen winced, as he heard Samson's pained cry from across the yard.

"Stephen! We don't 'ave another crane! 'Ow is Samson supposed to build the dinosa-" Millie was cut off when Samson's whistle sounded throughout the yard.

"Aha!" A now filthy Samson called proudly, causing Stephen and Millie to look at each other with deep concern.

"I've found another crane!" Samson panted, and sure enough he had. It was old, and small, and painted a dull grey. The men fired it up and smoke erupted from the boiler. Much to Stephen and Millie's concern, it hadn't been touched in years, and began to rattle and shake. The two engines shared a look of horror, before Stephen spoke up.

"Samson...I don't think that crane is very um...safe?" He watched as the old crane shook, before wincing. Samson scoffed.

"Nonsense, Stephen. This crane is in perfectly good shape! And it's certainly stronger than..." Samson trailed off, looking sad, but his proud expression returned. "N-no matter! This crane will do the job and that's that!" Samson buffered up the old crane to the trucks filled with dinosaur parts, and steamed into the park. The crane rocked from side to side as they did so; it did not look safe at all. As soon as Samson was out of sight, Millie looked sharply at Stephen.

"You got us into zis mess, Stephen, so you are getting us out!" Millie pouted, "Go find 'Arvey and tell 'im to come back, before Samson 'urts 'imself!"

"Millie, I can't possibly get that far! I don't even know where he is!" Stephen sighed, but he knew that this situation was his fault, so he took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll go find him. It is my fault after all..." Stephen sighed, and he puffed away, leaving Millie to worriedly puff into the Dinosaur Park to keep an eye on Samson.

* * *

Harvey stood on his siding at Maron Station, bored. He watched the other engines pass by with their trains.

"Do you need help, James?" He called as the red engine passed by on a passenger train.

"No, thank you, Harvey." James replied, "Passengers don't need a crane engine!" Harvey sighed. However, he heard a whistle and to his shock, Stephen steamed into Maron, looking exhausted.

"Stephen! What are you doing here?" Harvey exclaimed, as the old engine caught his breath.

"Harvey, you need to come back to the castle! Without you, Samson is using this old steam crane, and it's sure to cause some sort of a accident! We need you!" Harvey was stone-faced.

"I'm not going back there until Samson apologizes." Harvey said simply.

"Harvey, I know that I said to stand up to him, but you shouldn't want to have him hurt!" Stephen spluttered, "Or anyone else for that matter!" Harvey remained silent.

"Fine. Be that way then." Stephen sighed, and began to back away. However, he begun to hiss steam, and came to a stop. Harvey looked concerned.

"Stephen, are you alright?" Harvey asked. Stephen tried to start up again, but he couldn't.

"You're out of water, old boy," The driver sighed, "Could you give us a push back to the castle, Harvey?" Harvey thought about it, and then buffered up behind.

"Thanks, Harvey." Stephen smiled. Harvey chuckled sadly.

* * *

"Don't mention it, Stephen." Harvey sighed, and the duo headed back up to Ulfstead Castle.

Back up at the castle, Samson was proudly working with the rickety old crane.

"See? This right here is the symbol of efficiency!" Samson grinned proudly, "How many dinosaurs have we built now, driver?"

"One, Samson." The driver looked annoyed, "One."

"Oh." The crane shuddered and shook at a snail's pace, as it slowly loaded another dinosaur part into place. Millie concernedly observed from the other line.

"Be careful, Samson! Zat crane looks as if it could fall apart at any moment!" She heard it clank and groan. Samson scoffed, but he clearly began to look worried as well.

"N-nonsense, Millie! This crane is perfectly safe! I-whoa!" A loud "BANG" sounded out from the crane, causing Samson to jump backwards, banging into the flatbeds. One of them came off the rails, jamming across the tunnel. Millie looked on, horrified.

"Samson, one of your flatbeds is off the rails!" Millie cried. Samson looked back, but simply scoffed.

"No matter! I have the crane! It can just lift my flatbeds back onto the rails!" Samson switched lines, and rolled toward the accident with his crane in front.

"Samson! Ze crane is not strong enough and you know it!" Millie called, but it was too late. Samson had rigged up the crane to the flatbed, and tried to raise the flatbed into the air. It didn't the work. The crane spluttered, and dropped the flatbed.

"Uh oh." Samson muttered. The crane lost balance, and toppled over, right inside the tunnel, blocking the line. Samson and Millie were stranded. Suddenly, they heard a whistle.

"Harvey!" Samson gasped. Sure enough, Harvey came puffing in, with Stephen in front. Harvey looked astonished at the chaos that greeted him.

"What on Sodor happened here?" Harvey moved Stephen next to the water tower, and rolled over towards the tunnel.

"Zat crane happened." Millie grumbled, staring at the coughing old crane in the ground. Harvey looked at Samson, expecting some sort of explanation. Instead, he saw tears in the eyes of the other engine, who was staring miserably at the ground.

"Samson, are you alright?" Harvey asked. Samson looked up.

"Harvey, I...I didn't think you were going to come back!" He said weakly, "I'm really sorry for blaming you for everything, I really am. I just am so proud that I don't accept the consequences of my own actions; it's why I make mistakes all the time. I miss being friends, Harvey. I'm sorry for pushing you over the edge! I...I..." Samson sniffled, "I just want to be friends again. Please help me, Harvey. My pride is damaged enough already." Samson looked down miserably. To his surprise, Harvey smiled.

"Err...Samson, I wasn't planning on not helping you."

"Oh." Samson turned red with embarrassment. Harvey grinned.

"But, if you really want to be friends again that bad, I suppose I can forgive you. I kind of blew things out of proportion there, anyway. Also, I haven't got a job without you."

"R-really?" Samson grinned.

"Really." Harvey smiled at his friend, "Just promise to accept the consequences of your mistakes from now on, alright?"

"Yes, Harvey! Samson is at your service!" Samson blew his whistle proudly. The two were friends once more. Stephen and Millie looked at each other from across the mess with knowing expressions.

* * *

Harvey made quick work of the flatbeds, and shunted the crane out of the way once it was upright. Samson helped by shunting the flatbeds out of the way, and soon enough the tunnel was cleared. Millie passed on through, and the passengers could get back to their station. Once everything had been resolved, Samson and Harvey were surprised to find the Fat Controller and the Earl standing on the platform.

"Good to see that you two have made up!" The Fat Controller chuckled. Samson and Harvey looked at each other.

"Yes, sir. We have." Harvey smiled.

"Good. Good." The Earl put his arm around the Fat Controller, "You two have done great work in my Dinosaur Park, despite some, er, minor inconveniences." Samson looked away, "You two make a great team, and I hope you two continue to do great work, even after your work here is done!" Harvey and Samson looked at each other in surprise.

"You mean, I'm not going back to the mainland, sir?" Samson raised an eyebrow.

"You've done good work, Samson, despite some minor incidents. You and Harvey will make excellent utility engines, including maintaining the park." The Fat Controller explained. Samson and Harvey smiled proudly.

"Samson at your service, sirs!" Samson grinned, before jerking backwards. He bumped into a flatbed, which flew into the back wall, and came off the rails. Everyone winced.

"Err...my fault, sirs." Samson smiled sheepishly. Harvey laughed.

From then on, Harvey and Samson filled their new duties as utility engines splendidly. They got any job done without fuss, and with legendary teamwork. Although Samson could still mistakes, he now accepted responsibility for them, and Harvey knew not to overreact to them. And the two are now a really useful team.

 **THE END**

* * *

I love the Harvey-Samson duo. It's such an out-of-nowhere combo that clicks so well. Writing for these two was a blast, and I hope to write another story for them throughout this process. What combinations would you like to see get a story out of me? Leave a review to tell me what you thought of this story, and what character combinations you would like to see! As always, what's up next:

\- _Terence's Train_

\- _Duncan and Lenora_

\- _Gordon and Bear_

\- _Logan and Hector_

\- _Don't Loo About_

\- _The Abominable Snow Engine_

\- _Monkey Business_


	10. Terence's Train

**TERENCE'S TRAIN**

One day, Thomas was pulling Annie and Clarabel along his branch line. It was a very busy day, and Thomas' coaches were very full.

"You're very heavy today, Annie and Clarabel!" Thomas called, as he strained to turn his wheels. Annie scoffed.

"You're calling _us_ heavy, Thomas?" Clarabel laughed as Thomas turned red, embarrassed. Thomas looked up and saw that the signal was red.

"Oh, thank goodness. A red signal. I can have a rest before we start off again." Thomas braked to a halt at the signal. He whistled loudly upon stopping, and looked to the field adjacent to the line. Sure enough, he heard a familiar "pickiteh-pockiteh" noise.

"Hello, Terence!" Thomas said to his old friend, Terence the Tractor. Terence smiled back.

"Hello, Thomas!" Terence grinned, "Pulling your train, I see?"

"Yes, Terence. We've lots of passengers today, so the train is very heavy!" Thomas replied. Terence smirked.

"I'm sure I could handle it. Two coaches doesn't look to be that heavy to me. Certainly not more difficult than ploughing a field." Thomas glared at Terence.

"Well, Terence, I'll have you know that trains are very heavy, and hard to pull." Thomas pouted. Terence chuckled and grinned proudly.

"My owner says that I'm _adaptable_. I can go anywhere and do anything! And pulling a train does not seem like a tough job in the slightest! You just aren't as versatile as I am!" Thomas was furious, but Terence kept on smiling.

"Pulling a train is much harder than ploughing a lousy field!" He snapped. Terence smirked right back.

"Wanna bet? I'm certain I could pull a train! Much better than you can, anyway!" Terence chuckled at his own wit, but Thomas glared. He was very cross now.

"I doubt it!" The signal dropped, and Thomas continued on his way.

"Cheeky tractor!" Annie whispered to Clarabel.

"Cheeky tractor indeed!" Clarabel whispered back. Terence went back to ploughing his field, muttering to himself.

"Pulling trains is easy! Thomas is just blowing it out of proportion..."

* * *

At Ffarquhar Quarry, Mavis was hard at work, shunting Troublesome Trucks.

"Come on, you lot!" She bumped them into line, "We've an important order to deliver to the docks!" The trucks groaned as Mavis went away to fetch more. Suddenly, a bell rang throughout the quarry, and Toby puffed in.

"Hello, Mavis!" He called, "Busy, I see. What are all these trucks for?" Toby watched as Mavis added a few more stone trucks to the train.

"We've got a big order to be put on a ship this afternoon." She explained, "They're to help expand a harbour on the mainland. I have to be right on time, or I'll miss the ship!"

"That sounds very important," Toby chuckled, "Just don't hurt yourself with all those trucks!"

"Don't worry, Toby, I won't!" Mavis backed down onto the long line of trucks, and began to try and start off. The trucks were very heavy, so Mavis had to work hard.

"Come on! Come on!" Mavis strained, and sure enough she was soon on her way out of the quarry. However, the trucks were offended.

"Who does she think she is? Telling _us_ what to do!" The trucks whispered among each other, and they began to make a plan...

* * *

"Stop holding back! You're making this way more difficult than it needs to be!" Mavis panted as she and the trucks headed up the branch line. The trucks were holding back, and Mavis was having a hard time keeping them moving.

"You can't boss us about, Mavis!" A truck called, leaving the quarry diesel to growl in frustration.

"Fiddlesticks! Why do you trucks have to be so troublesome?" Then, there was trouble. Towards the middle of the train, one of the trucks had a old coupling. Holding back had strained it, and the chain began to break. The truck giggled with glee as it finally snapped, causing half the train to roll to a stop.

"It's all much easier now!" Mavis laughed, and she rounded the bend...leaving half her train behind. The trucks cackled as Mavis rolled out of sight, leaving on the line beside a familiar field. The guard stepped down from the brakevan, and went to the nearby farm for help.

* * *

Mavis finally arrived at Brendam Docks, where the big ship was waiting.

"Ahoy, Mavis!" Salty called, shunting some flatbeds.

"Hey, Salty!" Mavis coughed.

"You alright, Mavis? You sound tired!" Salty looked at Mavis with concern.

"The trucks gave me a hard time on the way down, Salty, but I'll be fine. Come to think of it, they only really gave me trouble the first half of the way down..." Mavis pondered. Cranky the Crane raised an eyebrow.

"Probably because you only have half your trucks!" Cranky called.

"What?" Mavis looked back, and to her horror, Cranky was right.

"Oh no! That must have been what I felt by the farm! I have to go back!" Mavis tried to reverse away, but her engine spluttered and she came to a stop.

"Oh no! I'm out of fuel!" Mavis cried, "They'll have to find another engine now! But who?"

* * *

Terence was very surprised to see the farmer opening the door to his shed.

"An important train to Brendam Docks has been left out in the middle of the line," he explained, "There are no engines available, so I told the quarry people we could do it." Terence was surprised.

"Yes, sir! I can show Thomas that pulling trains is easy!" He exclaimed. The farmer held his hands up.

"Now, Terence, keep calm. We're pulling heavy stone trucks, so we need to be very careful." He advised. Terence chuckled.

"Certainly, sir." He said. As the farmer fired up his engine, Terence chuckled to himself.

"This'll be a cakewalk! I'll show Thomas that I am right!" And with that, he sputtered out of his shed and rolled across the field.

* * *

Terence backed down onto the Troublesome Trucks, who had been enjoying their nap, and were surprised to see a tractor in front of them!

"Wuzzat?" A truck whispered to the others.

"A tractor? Pulling a train?" Another muttered.

"Come on, fellas!" Terence called back to the trucks, "We've got to get to the docks!" He honked his horn, and started to leave. However, the trucks were very heavy, and Terence was having a rough time starting.

"Hurry up!" He growled. Finally, after whirring his caterpillars enough to dig into the ground and shoot ballast into a truck's face, he managed to get going.

"Next stop, Brendam Docks!" Terence panted.

* * *

Terence rumbled along the branch line, with the trucks rattling along behind. It was tough for Terence, and as a result the ride was rather rough for the trucks.

"Ouch! Pick a pace, why don't you?" They screamed and groaned, but Terence kept going.

"E-easy!" Terence lied. His face was bright red and he was kicking up ballast everywhere. The trucks had had enough, and decided to cause trouble.

"Hold back, hold back!" The trucks whispered amongst themselves, and they began holding all their weight against Terence.

"S-stop it!" Terence stuttered, trying to keep going. He eventually approached a signal and stopped.

"Oh, thank goodness. Stupid trucks..." Terence rolled to a halt at the signal near Elsbridge. Thomas was at the platform, and was very surprised to see him.

"Terence? What are you doing with those trucks?" Thomas looked bewildered. Terence knew he should ask Thomas for help, but he didn't want to show him that he was having a tough time pulling the awkward, heavy trucks.

"Pulling them to the docks, Thomas! It's absolutely easy! I don't see why you complain so much about it." Terence looked away, trying to look proud, but clearly looking guilty. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, Terence. Just be careful on hills. Speed up before you go up, so the trucks don't have time to hold you back once you're climbing. Then, on the way down, make sure you have a lot of grip so you can keep the trucks in control." Terence's signal dropped, and he began to start off again.

"Yes, thank you, Thomas!" But Terence hadn't been listening. He had been more focused on how he was going to keep the trucks in line.

* * *

The trucks had began to make Terence's life even more difficult. They bumped and banged back and forth, causing Terence to have to strain very hard to keep going.

"A railway is no place for a tractor!" A truck called, leaving Terence to determinedly pull ahead.

"Stop it!" Terence struggled onwards, and through a station. The passengers were very surprised to see a tractor rolling along the line!

"Look at that, mummy!" A small boy pointed at Terence. Terence wasn't focused on the passengers, he was trying to climb the big hill ahead.

"Easy does it..." He approached Gordon's Hill, and saw how steep it was. He hadn't been listening to Thomas' advice, and as a result began to slow down as he approached the hill.

"I can conserve my energy, so I can get better traction while I climb." Terence began to slow down, and the trucks began to giggle.

"Hold back, hold back!" Terence climbed the hill furiously, kicking up ballast. However, the trucks held back so much, that Terence began to slip.

"Come on!" Terence finally rolled over the top of the hill, and let a sigh of relief. However, without his full resistance, the trucks began to push him down the other side and he began to slip. To his horror, the trucks banged into the back of him, causing his driver to struggle to keep balance. Terence began going faster and faster.

"HELP!" Terence shouted, as he frantically tried to apply resistance to the trucks. The trucks cackled proudly as Terence reversed as quickly as he could, but they were still too heavy.

"You can't stop us!" A truck laughed.

"You should've just stayed in your field!" Another put in, and they all burst out laughing. Terence groaned as his caterpillars whirred. Finally, as they approached the bottom of the hill, Terence felt his tracks grip the ballast and applied as much power as possible. He finally rolled to a stop, and sighed in relief. His driver pulled himself up and inspected him.

"Nothing's wrong, Terence, but we have to hurry up and get to the docks now!"

"Yes, sir." Terence muttered, and started off again, rather disgruntled.

* * *

Terence rushed down the branch line towards the docks. He didn't want to hear the trucks now, he just wanted to get the job done! He approached a hill, and suddenly remembered what Thomas had said earlier.

" _Speed up before you go up hills, that gives the trucks no time to hold back._ " Terence sped up, as his engine coughed smoke. He rolled over the hill and began resisting immediately upon reaching the other side.

"What happened?" The trucks whispered to each other, "He was _so_ much fun!" Terence rounded a bend and saw the docks ahead.

"Almost there!" Terence sputtered around a bend and pulled into the docks, exhausted. Mavis, who was taking on fuel, was surprised to see Terence pull in.

"Terence?" She was bewildered to see the tractor pulling a train. Terence ginned weakly.

"Hey, Mavis. Brought your trucks." The ship honked its horn, and Terence was uncoupled. He rolled over off the line as Cranky loaded the big ship with stone. Mavis smiled at Terence.

"Thanks for taking my trucks down, Terence." The tractor looked exhausted, but smiled.

"You know what they say, Mavis. I'm adaptable."

* * *

That evening, Thomas arrived with a flat truck to take Terence back to his field.

"Well, Terence! I heard that you were a really useful tractor today!" Thomas chuckled, "The quarry sends their thanks. Without you, their order would have never been delivered."

"Just doing my job, Thomas." Terence smiled, but then blushed in embarrassment, "Sorry for not believing you that pulling trains was hard...I've never had a tougher job! Your advice really helped me on those hills. Thanks."

"Oh, well, Terence. Sorry for getting so mad at you. I can't imagine ploughing a field like you do." The two friends smiled at each other, but Terence spoke up.

"Thomas, there is no way that ploughing a field is harder than pulling a train."

"Terence, yes there is! You have to be hooked to a plough and..."

And Thomas and Terence argued about whose job is harder all the way home.

 **THE END**

* * *

Terence is a very fun character to write for, and I hope I did him more justice since Troublesome Engines. Speaking of Troublesome Engines, I am planning on writing another special after 26 episodes, but what would you like to see it be? I have thought of several options of what it could be:

a) A "The Adventure Begins" adaptation of Toby the Tram Engine and Henry the Green Engine.

b) A special based on cowboys and the Wild West.

c) A special based around aliens.

d) A special based around robots.

e) A special based on what lurks in the waters of Sodor.

These are all ideas I would love doing, but I would love to see what you want to see. Leave a review and tell me what you thought of this story, and what you guys would want to see from a special. As always, what's next:

\- _Duncan and Lenora_

 _\- Gordon and Bear_

 _\- Logan and Hector_

 _\- Don't Loo About_

 _\- The Abominable Snow Engine_

 _\- Monkey Business_

 _\- Bugged! -_ When extra help is needed at the Blue Mountain Quarry, an engine from the Ministry of Defence is sent to help out. However, some of the engines become a little scared when they think they are being "bugged" by the military!


	11. Duncan & Lenora

**DUNCAN & LENORA**

A new goods yard was being built on the Skarloey Railway, and the engines needed to run supplies to the construction site. As a result, the timetables needed to be rearranged. The little engines were at Crovan's Gate sheds when the Thin Controller arrived, holding a pile of timetables to pass out to the crews of the little engines.

"You all will be very busy over these next few weeks until the new yards are finished," he explained, "Extra trains will need to be run down through the village to help with the work."

"Yes, sir!" The engines chorused. However, Duncan didn't want to do any extra work. As the engines were stoked up, he whispered to Skarloey.

"Of course I have a supply train right before my afternoon passenger train!" He complained, causing Skarloey to roll his eyes.

"Well maybe you just need to keep to time, Duncan! No rocking and rolling today!" The engines all laughed, leaving Duncan to grumble away.

"Was nae planning on it." He muttered.

* * *

Duncan picked up his trucks and rolled along the new line up to the goods yard. He didn't like having to take the extra trucks, but at least the line was clear.

"Nae other engines! Just me and the beauty of nature!" Duncan breathed in deeply and sighed. He was beginning to enjoy himself as he rounded a bend approaching a farm crossing. However, he saw something on the crossing and braked to a halt.

"Get out of the way!" He whistled as his wheels sparked from the brakes. He came to a stop a few feet away from the blockage on the crossing. He growled angrily.

"What are ye idling around on the crossing for?" Sitting before Duncan was a lorry who clearly had seen better days. She was painted cream, although her livery had faded from age. She smelled of fresh food, and under better circumstances Duncan would have been pleased to experience the smell. On her rear compartment, she had the letters "Lakeside Catering Company" written in a regal red font. She looked old and tired, and smoke was coming from her engine, which her driver was inspecting.

"Sorry for the holdup, dearie." The lorry coughed, "I've broken down and my driver has to fix me up."

"I can see that..." Duncan muttered, but the lorry spoke again.

"I never usually see trains coming down here. What brings all the commotion lately?"

"The railway's building a new yard for goods, and we have tae send supply trains up there." Duncan dryly explained. The lorry smiled motherly.

"Well, that's pleasant, dearie. I'm usually down here everyday. I deliver food to the cafés down at Lakeside, but we usually have to pick up food on the farms like vegetables and meat. My name's Lenora, by the way." Lenora's driver had fixed her engine and slammed the hood shut.

"Duncan." The little engine grumbled. He was already late and didn't have time for small talk with an old lorry. Lenora slowly inched off the crossing, leaving enough room for Duncan to pass. He whistled impatiently.

"Hurry up, ye old lorry! I'm going tae be late!" Lenora finally cleared the crossing and started off, leaving Duncan to grumble away behind her.

"Sorry, dearie. My engine's a bit troublesome..." But Duncan had already sped ahead and out of sight.

* * *

Duncan rolled into the goods yard as fast as he could. However, the foreman was very cross.

"You're late, Duncan! Because of you, we are way behind schedule for today. Now go back, and tell the other engines to make up for _your_ lost time!" And with that, he stomped away. Before Duncan could say anything, he heard Jack the Front Loader snickering nearby.

"What are ye laughing at!?" He snapped.

"Nothing really, Duncan. Just wondering what the holdup is, that's all!" Jack lifted his bucket and raised an eyebrow. Duncan looked away in embarrassment.

"Some ancient lorry was stalling on the crossing. Took ages to get it moving again." He grumbled. Jack chuckled.

"Oh, do you mean Lenora?" Duncan raised an eyebrow at Jack's familiarity.

"Yeah. Old junker. Should be in a museum, not running on the road and slowing me down..."

"Now, don't be rude, Duncan. If everything that should be in a museum would be, wouldn't you be in one yourself?" Duncan scoffed as Jack smirked.

"Lenora's an old dear, just a bit overworked, that's all. Besides, it's not like she's going to stall everyday!" Jack rolled away to continue his work, leaving Duncan on his own.

"Aye, not every day..." Duncan chuckled under his breath, before running around the train to return to Crovan's Gate.

* * *

Duncan went throughout the rest of his work that day trying his best to make up for lost time. However, his early morning mixup had caused confusion and delay, and when he arrived for his evening passenger train, he was surprised to find Sir Handel sitting at the front of the coaches.

"Sir Handel, what are ye doing with my coaches?" Duncan spluttered in disbelief.

"You were late this morning Duncan, so the timetables needed to be rearranged. So I'm taking your train, Rusty is taking mine later, and now you have to take his." Duncan sighed and raised an eyebrow.

"What's Rusty's train?"

"Waste collection. Have fun!" The guard's whistle blew and Sir Handel pulled out the station laughing. Duncan scowled as he backed down onto the old crane and trucks.

"Was nae my fault...stupid lorry..." He was coupled up and started off.

* * *

Duncan's waste collection duties had been slow, dull, and long. By the time he was done, it was very late and he was exhausted. He pulled into the sheds and braked to a halt in exhaustion. Rusty, who was nearby and had been enjoying longer hours of sleep than usual, popped an eye open.

"Enjoy your run, Duncan?" Rusty teased. The Scottish engine growled back.

"That stupid lorry stalled me this morning, and it's made my entire day absolutely rotten!" He sighed, looking down at his buffers.

"Well, Duncan, why don't you try leaving early tomorrow so you can outrun her to the crossing?" Rusty suggested. Duncan scowled.

"There's nae way I'm waking up early, Rusty," Duncan yawned, "I'm far tae tired." And with that, he finally fell asleep after the long day's work.

* * *

As the sun rose, Duncan puffed along the line with his next supply train. He felt happy to try and keep to time again. However, as he rounded the bend before the crossing...

"Oh no!" Duncan braked to a halt. Sitting on the crossing in front of him was Lenora, stalled again.

"Oh, hello again, dearie." Lenora grinned sheepishly, "We really do need to stop meeting each other like this." Duncan simply growled with rage before Lenora managed to get moving again and he stormed off in a huff.

For the next few days, it was always the same. No matter what Duncan tried to do, Lenora was always waiting, stalled right across the rails.

"Ugh! It's like she's doing it on purpose!" Duncan groaned after seeing Lenora on the crossing once more. He was late constantly, and ending up staying out later and later and later. He had thought a lot about Rusty's advice, and decided that he was going to leave early the following day.

"If I can outrun Lenora, I can stay to schedule today, and no one will be cross!" Duncan chuckled to himself as he backed down onto the trucks. However, in his haste, he hadn't noticed that one of the vans still had an opened door, right next to a box of tools. He puffed along the line at a sprint, and approached the crossing at breakneck speed. He heard Lenora's horn rounding the bend.

"Not today!" Duncan rocketed onwards, causing his vans to rock back and forth. However, the van's door swung open, and a box of tools spilled out. Duncan was too far away to notice, but the tools were blocking the line. Lenora rolled around the corner just as Duncan was out of sight.

"I really hope I don't break down again...Duncan seems rather upset with me..." Lenora told her driver as she drove towards the crossing.

"We can't help your engine, Lenora. You know we can't afford to fix it yet." Lenora sighed and rolled over the crossing, rolling around the tools.

"Oh, thank goodness I haven't broken down today! I cannot imagine what Duncan would think! Poor dearie..."

* * *

Duncan rolled into the goods yard, where the foreman was surprised to see him so early.

"Glad to see you finally being punctual, Duncan!" The foreman chuckled, "Let's get your delivery unloaded!"

"Thank you, sir!" Duncan smirked proudly. The men began unloading Duncan's trucks, but they made a discovery.

"We haven't got our tools!" One of the men called. The foreman slapped his hand against his forehead.

"Duncan! You've left the tools, you great silly engine! Go back to the yards and fetch them now! We need them to keep building!" Duncan was shocked! He was going to be late again!

"Yes, sir..." Duncan muttered, and sped away to pick up the tools.

* * *

Duncan approached the crossing at breakneck speed. Because he was traveling cab first, he didn't notice the tools sitting on the line! He hit them with a dull bump, and his wheels left the rails.

"WHOA! HELP!" Duncan cried as he landed with a crunch on the dirt road. His crew leapt from the cab as Duncan tipped over onto his side, taking the empty vans with him. Once the train had stopped moving, Duncan groaned in pain.

"Ouch." His crew ran to get help, but found that the derailed train had knocked over a telephone pole, and the lines were down. They were stranded.

* * *

Lenora had picked up her daily delivery of food and was driving down the road when she saw Duncan and the derailed train lying across the road.

"Bless me, are you alright, dearie?" She looked at the groaning little engine.

"Och, nae. The telephone lines are down, and I can nae get help." Duncan sighed. Lenora smiled warmly.

"I can run up to the yard as fast as my wheels can carry me, Duncan. I can get help in no time!" Lenora began backing away, leaving Duncan in pain.

"But...your engine!" Duncan cried, but Lenora was already out of sight.

* * *

Lenora sped along the dirt road heading towards the goods yard. Her engine growled, and her wheels spun, but she was focused more on helping Duncan than anything else.

"I must help him! I must help him!" Lenora revved her engine, and continued to go faster, even as smoke began to come from her engine. She saw the yard ahead, where Rusty and Jack were waiting.

"Are you alright, Lenora?" Jack asked, as Lenora coughed.

"Duncan's had an accident! He needs help right away!" She cried.

"Duncan's in trouble? I'm on my way!" Rusty coupled up to a nearby breakdown crane and rolled away. Lenora tried to reverse with him, but smoke billowed from her engine, and a foul smell filled the yard.

"Oh dear!" She gasped. Her driver got out and began working on her engine once more.

* * *

Rusty used a crane to lift Duncan back onto the rails. He moaned in pain as he touched the rails once more, covered in dirt. Rusty began shunting him back to the yards.

"My aching boiler..." Duncan coughed weakly. Rusty winced.

"You alright there, Duncan? Lenora was really in a hurry to get help; she blew her engine out after she got to the yard!" Duncan was surprised: he thought Lenora was stalling him on purpose!

"Oh no..." Duncan muttered. Rusty pulled Duncan into the yard, where the Thin Controller was waiting. He did not look pleased.

"Duncan! Why on earth were you going so fast! You have caused a lot of delay and confusion!" Mr. Percival put his hands on his hips. Duncan looked away in embarrassment.

"Sorry, sir. I was trying to outrun Lenora, so she wouldn't break down on the crossing again and make me late. But I dropped my tools and had an accident." The Thin Controller sighed.

"It's alright, Duncan. But I think you owe Lenora an apology." Duncan looked to Lenora, who was on the other side of the yard. However, her driver was still looking at her engine, and still hadn't been able to fix it. Lenora looked miserable.

"Guess it's about it gave out..." Lenora sighed, "We can't afford to fix it now, so I guess it's off to the museum for me." Duncan was horrified; he couldn't let himself be responsible for anyone having to retire. He looked to the Thin Controller.

"Sir, as thanks, can we pay for Lenora's repairs so she can keep running? It is my fault that her engine is burnt out..." The Thin Controller looked at Lenora, and smiled.

"I think that is fair reward for Lenora's heroism, Duncan." Lenora gasped, and her driver jumped back in surprise, bumping his head on the hood.

"Thank you, sir! That is very kind of you! And thank you, Duncan, dearie, for giving me this opportunity, wow!" Lenora was ecstatic, and Duncan smiled.

* * *

Duncan was repaired soon enough, and few weeks later he pulled into Lakeside, where, to his surprise, a familiar face was waiting for him.

"Good morning, dearie!" Lenora was sitting in the station car park, good as new. Her new paint shone brightly and her engine purred softly.

"Lenora! It's wonderful to have you back!" Duncan grinned.

"It's good to _be_ back! Your Thin Controller bought me the best engine around, and now I'm in the best shape I've ever been!" Lenora honked her horn as her driver shut her doors.

"Sorry for being so rude to you before, I guess I was just in a rush..." Duncan sighed, "But if you wouldn't mind, I would like to be friends from now on."

"I'd like that a lot, dearie. Sorry for delaying you all those times, but that won't happen anymore!" Lenora honked cheerfully, and began pulling away, leaving Duncan smiling at the platform, happy to have a new friend.

 **THE END**

* * *

Compared to some of my other stories, this one is rather low-key. The narrow gauge bunch are very fun to write for, and I hope I did the ones who did appear in this justice. Lenora is a grandmotherly sort of character; kind, caring, and protective, but just a tad frail and wispy. However, I would like to use her in future narrow gauge episodes, as I am planning on using her to cater future Skarloey Railway events. I also gave Jack the Front Loader a little role in the story, as I am fond of his character. Two more orders of business before we go onto what's coming.

a) _Gordon and Bear_ has been delayed. There's more plot details I need to set up before I can write it. Instead, the next episode will be _Logan and Hector._

b) The special has been decided to be cowboy/wild west-themed, and it will be called _Rampage of the Rail Bandits._ It will feature three original songs, and four new characters.

Now for what's next:

\- _Logan and Hector_

\- _Don't Loo About_

\- _Back-Engine -_ In order to allow Edward to run his branch line full time, Molly becomes the station pilot of Wellsworth, as well as it's resident banker. However, her meek nature causes her to lack confidence and cause confusion and delay. Can Molly make up for her mistakes?

\- _Monkey Business_

\- _Bugged!_

\- _Duck Season -_ Duck goes to work with Lucian during a particularly busy summer on the scenic branch line, and ends up smack dab in the middle of a hunter problem.

\- _Merrick and the Meteorite -_ Merrick the Gantry Crane stays up late to watch a meteor shower, and ends up thinking a meteorite has crashed in the quarry when he hears several crashes coming from the upper terrace of the quarry!

\- _The Full Monty -_ When Max and Monty have a contest to see who can transport the most debris, Monty decides to cheat and take the entire load at once. But what are the consequences of this when a steep hill is covered in slippery leaves?


	12. Don't Loo About

**DON'T LOO ABOUT**

Long ago, Henry the Green Engine was pulling the Flying Kipper in the snow one morning. He saw a signal glowing yellow, but the arm was down. Henry, deciding it was safe, headed on by. However, snow had forced the signal's arm down, and it was actually set at "danger". Henry's train was set into a siding, and collided with the back of another train. Although the accident had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it had the Fat Controller send Henry to Crewe to get a new shape so he wouldn't have to burn special Welsh coal anymore, it gave Henry an acute awareness and increased caution of signals.

* * *

One day, Henry was waiting at Elsbridge station with a passenger train. Thomas was late, and Henry was feeling rather impatient.

"Where is he?" Henry muttered as his passengers waited on the platform, "He was supposed to have been here before me!" However, Thomas was down the line with Annie and Clarabel filled with passengers, trying to make up for lost time.

"Thomas! Henry is a guaranteed connection! You don't need to go so FAST!" Annie called as Thomas sped along, dragging his screaming coaches behind him.

"If I'm any later, the Fat Controller will be cross!" Thomas shouted back, and rolled around the bend. Annie and Clarabel screamed as they approached the junction. Henry heard Thomas' whistle, and looked up at the signal gantry above. Thomas' had turned to red, and another signal had gone green to allow Hiro to pass through with his goods train.

"Thomas, stop!" Henry called, but he was already trying to cross the junction; he hadn't seen the red signal! Hiro's whistle rang out, and the large engine rounded the bend, carrying a long line of heavy trucks. There was no way he could stop in time!

"Out of the way, Thomas!" He cried, and Thomas frantically sped over the points with Annie and Clarabel just as Hiro passed by. Clarabel shut her eyes and barely missed Hiro's front as he sped through. Thomas pulled into the platform, his face bright red with exhaustion and embarrassment. The passengers stepped out and onto the platform, and seemed to be chattering amongst each other.

"That was not safe at all!"

"That's simply something you don't do on a _proper_ railway!"

"That was far too dangerous." Thomas winced and looked at Henry, who sighed.

* * *

That evening at Tidmouth Sheds, the Fat Controller spoke severely to Thomas.

"Signals are there for a reason, Thomas! You put your passengers in danger, and even worse, yourself! When a signal is red, you have to stop! You have been working on my railway long enough to know this, Thomas. I expect it to not happen again." Thomas sighed, looking down in shame.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir." The Fat Controller returned to Winston and backed away, leaving the other engines to look at Thomas. Emily smiled at him warmly.

"Don't worry, Thomas. It was a mistake; it could happen to any engine." While Thomas gave a small smile at her encouragement, Henry butted in.

"Not me! I would never run a red signal; it's far too dangerous!" Thomas scowled at the big green engine.

"I know very well that running a red signal is dangerous, Henry. It's not like I did it on purpose!" He snapped. Henry scoffed.

"I'm aware Thomas, but you always must listen to signals. No matter what they say and how long they keep you waiting, you can't disobey a signal." Thomas snorted indignantly.

"Well, Henry, why don't you go out and pull the Flying Kipper, obeying _every single signal_!" He shot a sharp glare at Henry before reversing into the sheds to sleep. Henry whistled and began to leave to take the Flying Kipper, grumbling the whole way.

"I always obey signals! Silly little Thomas..."

* * *

Henry arrived at the docks, where Porter had shunted his vans, filled with fish.

"Evenin', Henry!" Porter whistled, and Henry smiled back as he backed down onto the trucks.

"Good evening, Porter. Anything I need to know for tonight's delivery?"

"Is there?" Porter thought for a moment, "Oh yes; you need to get down to Vicarstown right on time tonight. A big ship on the mainland ordered fish and the diesel taking the train down there has to leave right on schedule. Be careful, though!" Porter then rolled away as the guard's whistle blew and Henry left the docks, the fish vans rumbling along behind him.

* * *

Along Henry's route, a signalman was sitting and waiting for the train before the Kipper to come through. He had had a long day, and decided that he needed to go to the loo. However, the signalbox had no washroom, so he had to go to a portable toilet propped up against it. After making sure everything was in order, he went down to do his business. He finished, and went to leave the toilet. However, when he tried to open the door, it was locked!

"Hey! Let me out of here!" He shouted, banging on the door. The evening express rocketed by, hauled by Gordon, drowning out the signalman's cries. Unfortunately, Henry's signal was still red!

* * *

Henry saw the red signal above and braked to a stop as he approached the junction. His crew shared a confused glance.

"The signal was supposed to be set to green for us. I wonder what the holdup is...?" The driver scratched his head and poked his head out of the cab.

"Well, whatever it is, we have to listen to it. The signal is clearly red for a reason." Henry said, and he looked up at the signal, waiting for it to change. However, the arm remained up, and the signal wouldn't change. Henry sat at the signal for half an hour, but the arm didn't move. The fireman turned to the driver.

"Maybe we should walk to the signalbox and see if anything is wrong?" Henry was shocked! You always had to listen to signals, no matter what!

"I'm sure this signal has a reason for still being up. We just need to keep waiting." He insisted. His crew glanced nervously at each other, before sitting back to keep waiting.

* * *

Down at Vicarstown, a long green diesel was waiting for Henry to arrive so he could take his train onto the mainland. He sat impatiently, staring at the signal.

"Where is that filthy steamer? Leave it to a steam engine to be late. I must be right on time in order to catch the ship!" The diesel muttered. Dart rolled by, shunting some flatbeds.

"Stop complaining, big guy. He's not that l-" Dart looked up at the clock in the statiom, and saw that it was forty-five minutes after Henry was supposed to arrive. He raised an eyebrow, and kept shunting.

"Huh. I guess he is kind of late..." He muttered, and continued shunting. The diesel rolled his eyes, and returned to waiting begrudgingly.

"Dirty steamer..."

* * *

Henry was still waiting at the signalbox. It had been a hour since he had stopped, and his crew began to grow nervous.

"That's it. There _has_ to be something wrong! We're going to check the signalbox." The driver and fireman stepped down from the cab, put up red flags behind the train in case another engine came along, and began walking towards the signalbox.

"There's nothing wrong, they just aren't ready to clear us yet!" Henry insisted. But his crew were already too far away to hear.

* * *

Henry's driver and fireman headed up into the signalbox. The lights were on, but the signalman was nowhere to be found. They searched around for a bit, and they then heard a banging noise from nearby the box.

"Hello? Hello? Can someone get me out of here? Help!" The crew ran to the portable toilet nearby the signalbox and pried the door open. The signalman fell out, and breathed in fresh air thankfully.

"Oh thank goodness, I thought I would never get out of there!" He brushed off his trousers, and stood up.

"That's why our train was stuck at the signal..." The driver grumbled, and, after the signalman had set the train to allow them to pass, they returned to Henry. The big green engine cringed, as they looked rather cross.

"The signalman was locked in the port-a-potty, Henry." The fireman began shoveling coal once more, leaving Henry very embarrassed as he began to try to make up for lost time.l

* * *

The diesel was still waiting for Henry, and finally decided he had had enough.

"The rest of this delivery cannot miss that ship! I don't care what excuse that steamer has, he is an _hour_ late! I'm leaving!" And it was agreed. The shortened train, pulled by the diesel, left the station, and was out of sight. A few minutes later, Henry arrived.

"Oh no! I've missed the train! We have to catch it!" Henry panted. His driver sighed.

"They're too far ahead, old boy. We can't catch them now." Henry looked miserable as he was uncoupled and solemnly limped back to Tidmouth Sheds.

* * *

The following evening, before Henry was due to pull the Kipper again, the Fat Controller came to see him.

"I heard about your incident with the signal last night, Henry." The Fat Controller was stern, "I am glad that you were listening to signals, but nothing is perfect. There was a problem with the signal, and you refused to check it because you had too much faith in the signal. Anything can be prone to fault, Henry, and if something seems wrong it is always right to inspect." He sighed, "The fish will taken by a ship from Brendam Docks in a few days. I hope you have learned from this."

"Yes, sir." Henry said quietly. The Fat Controller walked away. The other engines looked to Henry as soon as he was out of sight, before Emily spoke up.

"Henry, what exactly was wrong with that signal?" She asked. Henry turned bright red with embarrassment.

"The signalman locked himself in the portable toilet near the box." He muttered. The other engines looked at each other in silence before bursting out into laughter. Henry turned even redder than before.

"Well, Henry," a voice amongst the laughter said, "I hope you've learned not to _loo about_ at signals!" Henry wasn't completely sure, but he could swear the voice belonged to Thomas.

 **THE END**

* * *

I decided to put this one before _Logan and Hector_ just so we wouldn't get two episodes establishing characters in a row. I wanted to write kind of a S3-S5 esque episode, and this is what came about. Of course, CGI characters like Hiro, Porter, and Dart snuck their way in, and I'm setting up for a future episode with the big green diesel. He is, in fact, the Diesel from _Bowled Out,_ and will get a story to himself at a later point, on this set of episodes "DVD sextet", which I am going to call _Sudrian Surprises,_ which will be published in here. The episodes will be revealed here. As for what's next.

\- _Logan and Hector_

 _\- Back-Engine_

 _\- Monkey Business_

 _\- Bugged!_

 _\- Duck Season_

 _\- Merrick and the Meteorite_

 _\- The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class -_ Class 40 returns to Sodor after being purchased by the Earl of Sodor to run goods trains up to his various ventures. He goes about his business with very little interruption, but begins to grow overconfident and declares himself the best engine around. Will he be brought back to Earth?

\- _Close Encounters of the Toad Kind -_ Oliver thinks Toad has been abducted by aliens when he disappears in the middle of the night.

\- _The Missing Ballast Trucks -_ Mike decides to take advantage of Bert's low intelligence by hiding his ballast trucks, but ends up actually losing them!

\- _Toby's Travels -_ The Harwick Branch Line is thrown into chaos when Toby comes down the line without them being warned.

\- _A China Clay Christmas -_ Bill and Ben neglect their work to help set up Christmas decorations, Timothy tries to prove he can handle Bill and Ben to BoCo, and Marion wonders what Emily has gotten her for Christmas.

\- _Gordon and Bear_


	13. Logan & Hector

**LOGAN & HECTOR**

Coal is a very important resource on the island of Sodor. The Fat Controller's steam engines need coal to keep running and being really useful. Most of Sodor's coal is delivered from the mainland, but various small deposits of it had been discovered around Crosby. As a result of this, a coal mine and plant had been established, and the engines on the North Western Railway spent time taking trucks up and down from the mine. However, as industry expanded, less and less engines had time to go down to the mine, and there had begun to be a backlog. As a result, the coal board bought a new engine to shunt trucks down at the mine for the other engines to take away. His name was Logan, and he was very eager to start work. He rolled into the coaling plant, where the manager was waiting for him.

"Hello, Logan!" The manager said, "Pleasure to see that you've arrived! Hopefully, you can get right to work, eh?"

"Yes, sir!" Logan whistled, and rolled up to some coal trucks, bumping them hard. They groaned.

"Who does he think he is? Bumping us about! We should teach him a lesson..." The trucks whispered amongst themselves as Logan went about his work. Across the yard, a large hopper truck watched with concern.

"He could have trouble..." Hector muttered, as the little sentinel shunted by.

* * *

Logan worked hard all day, as the coal trucks bumped and bashed about. He was completing his final load of the day when the trucks decided to play their tricks. Logan was preparing to shunt them underneath a hopper when they bumped him forward.

"Hey!" Logan shouted, but it was too late. Logan gasped as he surged beneath the hopper. Before he had time to even think, coal rained down from the hopper and covered him from smokebox to cab. Logan coughed as the dust settled, while the trucks cackled.

"Dirty little engine! He doesn't know how to handle us coal trucks!" They laughed and laughed, while Logan turned red with embarrassment.

"Yes I do! I can handle trucks like you anyday!" But the trucks continued laughing at Logan, as Hector looked on from across the yard. He sighed and looked down.

* * *

It took a long time for Logan's crew to dig him out of the coal and for him to steam away onto a siding to get the coal dust out of his funnel. He felt very sorry for himself.

"Not a good thing to happen on my first day, eh?" He said to no one in particular.

"No, indeed." Logan was surprised to hear a voice next to him. His eyes darted over and saw a large black hopper truck looking back at him. Logan had never seen such a large truck before, and he was secretly rather frightened.

"Who are you?" Logan stuttered. The hopper smiled back. Although he intended to be friendly, it made Logan rather uncomfortable.

"The name's Hector." The hopper responded, "You're new around here, eh? Never worked with coal before?" Logan hadn't, but he wasn't sure what to think of Hector. He had never met any truck that wasn't troublesome, and this made him rather suspicious.

"I have," Logan lied, "but why do you ask?"

"Really? You seemed to let the trucks bang you up pretty bad today." Hector chuckled, "It seems like you could use some help to let you learn the ropes around here. I've been working here for years, and I'm sure I could lend you a hand in helping out. We all need a little help when we work somewhere new." Hector grinned, but Logan glared back.

"I know what you're trying to do! You're trying to make me listen to you so you can trick me into getting into trouble! Well...I won't let you!" And with that, Logan, his smokebox now clear, rumbled away, leaving Hector confused.

* * *

Logan continued his work, but the trucks were proving to be rather troublesome for him. Not only were they just as rude as ever, but they decided to make it look like Hector was in on their schemes too, to make Logan cross. The trucks didn't like Hector; they thought he was too goody-goody to be a real truck, but they were all afraid of him due to his size. As Logan moved a long line of trucks with Hector at the rear across the yard, the trucks jerked back and forth.

"Big and bad! Strong and solid! We're all lead by Hector the Horrid!" The trucks chortled.

"Stop that, you stupid hopper!" Logan panted, getting more and more covered in coal dust the harder he worked. Hector, however, was trying his best to keep the trucks under control.

"I'm not doing anything, Logan! It's the other trucks!" But Logan was too cross to keep listening. The yard was filled with delays all day, and the engines who arrived were rather cross to find that they had been delayed.

"Hurry up! I nae have all day!" Douglas grumbled as he waited for Logan to shunt his trucks. Logan rushed ahead.

"Sorry!" Logan panted, and buffered the trucks up, giving Hector an extra hard bump at the rear. Douglas felt the bump too, and glared at Logan before puffing away. Logan was exhausted, and puffed away to rest.

* * *

Douglas made his coal delivery, and went around the train to take it back. However, there was a loud hissing, and he rolled to a stop.

"Oh, bother! I can nae move! I burst my safety valve!" Douglas needed another engine to come and take his empty trucks back to the coaling plant. The closest one nearby was Thomas, and he rolled onto the front of the train.

"Hello, Hector!" Thomas smiled. Hector smiled back wearily; it was nice to see some comfort after how trying the last few days had been.

"Hello, Thomas. Wonderful to see you." The little blue engine was surprised to see Hector sounding tired; he always seemed to be full of energy.

"Is something wrong? You sound tired." Hector sighed, before looking sadly down.

"There's a new engine at the coaling plant, his name's Logan. We've had all sorts of delays this week because he's new and doesn't want to listen to me to learn the ropes simply because I'm a truck. _¡Estoy frustrado!_ " Thomas smiled back at his friend as they rolled along the line.

"Well, Hector. Maybe he just isn't ready to accept new things, like taking advice from a truck. When you first arrived on the island, weren't you scared to try new things too?" He chuckled, leaving Hector to give a small smile.

"I hadn't really thought of it that way, Thomas." Hector replied, "I was a little of frightened of being filled with coal when I got here. But there's nothing I can really do to show Logan that I really want to help." He sighed.

"You'll see, Hector. You'll find a way. You always do, after all! Remember when you helped James through that blizzard?" Thomas smiled, as he shunted Hector onto a siding at the coaling plant, "Bye, Hector!" Thomas puffed away. Both he and Hector were unaware that Logan had overheard their conversation, and was doubting his own beliefs.

* * *

A few days later, James arrived at the Coaling Plant. He was in a foul mood, and didn't want to pull dirty trucks.

"Dirty trucks, dirty sidings. Ugh!" He rolled in and bumped some trucks hard. James heard an unfamiliar whistle, and saw Logan shunting a long line of dirty coal trucks.

"Hurry up and shunt my trucks, you little shunter!" He shouted. Logan wasn't in the mood to get yelled at by a big engine, so he simply whistled back.

"We've had delays all morning, so you can jolly well sit tight or shunt your own trucks." He called back. James scowled and lumbered away to fetch his coal trucks.

"Stupid shunter...I should have my trucks waiting for me...this yard's going down the drain." James began banging trucks into line. However, his aggravation caused him to be rather rough.

"Come on, you lot!" He bumped another truck onto his long line. The trucks were getting annoyed with how James was treating them, and decided to play their tricks.

"You think you can push us around, big guy?" The truck at the front of the line snickered, "Come at us with your best shot!" James glared; he didn't like getting teased by trucks.

"Maybe I will!" James shouted, and banged into the long line as hard as he could. The trucks flew forward, cackling all the way.

"Thanks for the bump, red!" The truck giggled. James looked on in horror as the trucks raced ahead.

* * *

On the other side of the yard, Logan buffered up to Hector and was preparing to take him across to the top of the plant. Both were unaware of the long line of trucks heading towards them.

"Come on, Hector. Let's make this easy, shall we?" Logan bumped Hector hard before starting off. Hector glared back, when he suddenly heard a rumbling and looked to the left. He saw James' trucks soaring down the line. Hector gasped.

"Logan! Faster!" He boomed.

"Nice try, Hector. I'm not falling for your tricks today!" Logan chuckled in reply. The trucks were getting closer.

"This is _not_ a trick, Logan! Move _now_!" Hector shouted, the urgency in his voice rising. The trucks were almost at the points. If Logan wouldn't listen to him, he would have to take desperate measures.

"I told you, Hector. I'm not fall-WHOA!" Logan jumped as Hector bumped into him. Before Logan could even have time to react, the trucks surged into Hector. Hector groaned in pain as he fell onto his side, spilling coal everywhere as the cackling trucks spewed off the rails and across the line.

"Hector?" Logan asked in horror after the dust had settled. Hector was covered in coal dust and his side was dented. He looked in a very sorry state. Logan heard a whistle, and a horrified James raced in.

"Hector, are you alright?" James gasped.

"I'm fine," Hector coughed, "Just a few dents and scratches, that's all."

"I'll get Rocky!" James steamed away, leaving Logan to wait with Hector.

* * *

When James returned with Rocky, Logan assisted in the rescue operations by shunting the unhurt trucks away. Rocky was rigged up to Hector and lifted him high into the air.

"Are you alright, Hector? You did a pretty risky thing back there." Rocky said with concern as he put Hector down on the line.

"I'm fine, Rocky. Just a little _abollado,_ that's all." Hector grinned, but coughed in pain. Rocky looked concernedly at Logan.

"Can you take the big guy to the Steamworks, err...Logan? Victor needs to look him over, no matter how fine he says he is." The little shunter shunted forwards in silence, and began pushing the dented Hector to the Steamworks.

* * *

Along the way, Logan spoke up.

"Y-you _saved_ me!" He stuttered, "Why?"

"Because I was trying to help you. Like I have been this _entire_ time, _muchacho_." Hector weakly smiled back.

"I guess you really were then..." Logan awkwardly chuckled, before frowning, "Sorry for doubting you actually wanted to help me...I'd never met a helpful truck before, and I guess I wasn't sure if you were being completely honest or not."

"That's alright. I guess I do come on a little strong," Hector smiled back, "When I'm back, I can show how to keep the other trucks in line and make everything run like clockwork, if you'd like."

"That'd be great, thank you, Hector. You know this yard better than I do, and I guess I could use a little help." Logan smiled. Hector raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"There's one thing I need you to promise me, Logan."

"What's that?"

"That you always know that you'll always have more to learn!"

Logan and Hector, now friends, laughed all the way to the Steamworks.

* * *

After Hector's repairs were completed, he immediately went to work with teaching Logan the ropes.

"Come on, Logan! Easy does it!" Hector called as the little sentinel moved a long line of trucks into place for James to take away.

"What happened to whip that little shunter in shape?" He chuckled in disbelief. Hector grinned back.

"He wants to learn, and a desire to learn makes everyone better." He responded knowingly. James winked at Hector before leaving the coaling plant, as Logan continued his work. Hector chuckled at his new pupil.

"He's got a lot to learn, but he's going to be a really useful engine. I just know it."

 **THE END**

* * *

I've always been fond of Hector, hence my decision to bring him back here. Out of all the merchandise-exclusive characters thus far (I plan to introduce all of them with original stories, but Logan was the only one I could do right now), Logan is my favorite, despite being the least developed. He's just such a fun concept for a character. A little coal shunter? Yes please! I think I've given him a good scrappy and stubborn personality that makes Hector have to keep the little guy in check. We'll be seeing more of Logan in future, believe me. I have plans for him...mwahaha. Seeing as we have no new episodes to reveal this week, I've decided to give you guys ten new facts about _Rampage of the Rail Bandits,_ just to get y'all excited:

1) The main character of the special will not be Thomas, although Thomas features in the deuteragonist role. This character is also _not_ part of the Steam Team, although they have appeared in one of these stories.

2) Although not the main character, Lucian will have a role in the special.

3) There will be one returnee, but he will be rather minor and more focused upon in the following set of episodes.

4) One of the new characters is a piece of rolling stock.

5) The aforementioned piece of rolling stock is female.

6) We will have a human villain again, but he will be much more threatening than Sailor John.

7) The special will continue the trend of "collapsing bridges in Thomas specials", but it will not be a major plot point.

8) The special will feature pairs of characters off in certain plots. There are six of these pairs.

9) While Sidney will not have a major role in any upcoming episodes as of now, he will appear in the special.

10) The special is mostly based around Ballahoo.

Get hype, peeps! And, as always, what is next!:

\- _Back-Engine_

 _\- The Abominable Snow Engine_ (don't know how I forgot this one last time)

\- _Monkey Business_

\- _Bugged_

\- _Duck Season_

\- _Merrick and the Meteorite_

\- _The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon and Bear_


	14. Back Engine

**BACK ENGINE**

Edward the Blue Engine has many jobs on the Fat Controller's railway. Not only does he have his own branch line, that runs from Wellsworth Station down to Brendam Docks, he is also is the resident station pilot and banker of Wellsworth. This means when trains need help up Gordon's Hill, he has to buffer up behind them and help them up. Edward enjoys his work, but in recent years his branch line has become a lot busier. As a result of this, he's had less time to help bank other engines, which means they have a tougher time getting up the hill.

* * *

One day, Stafford was rolling along the line with a heavy load of pipes. He was having a tough time, and it was wearing out his battery.

"Come on, I can't be late with these!" He approached Wellsworth, and honked for a banker.

"Please help me! I don't think I can get up the hill on my own." He waited and waited, but Edward was nowhere to be found. The driver poked his head out of the cab door.

"I don't think Edward's here, old boy. You'll have to try and pull the trucks up the hill on your own." He returned to the controls, leaving Stafford to nervously roll on ahead.

"I can do it! I can do it!" He slowly managed to get momentum as he approached Gordon's hill. He panted as he tried to grip the rails, but his train was too heavy. Suddenly, he felt himself slowing to a stop.

"Oh no! My battery!" Stafford cried, but it was too late. He had stalled right on the hill, and his battery was out of power. He was stranded.

* * *

Edward had been pulling a passenger train at the time, and was horrified to hear that Stafford had stalled on the hill. As soon as he arrived at Wellsworth, he rolled over to the hill and pulled Stafford and his train back down to the bottom.

"I am _so so_ sorry, Stafford. I've been busier lately so I haven't had time to be here as often."

"That's alright, Edward. It's not your fault." Stafford smiled.

"In fact, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine." Both engines were surprised to see the Fat Controller standing at the platform.

"How is that, sir?" Edward asked. The Fat Controller sighed and looked at the clipboard he was holding.

"I overbooked you, Edward. I somehow expected you to be both a banker and run your own branch line. It's simply too much. So, I'm going to be rearranging your schedule, along with some other engines', so you can run your branch line full time." Edward was surprised.

"Thank you, sir! It's good to hear I'll have a bit more rest..." He chuckled, "But, sir, who will keep the yard organized here?"

"That will all be arranged. I have a candidate in mind but I need to ask her first. But starting in a few days, Edward, your workload will decrease. Trust me, I have it all planned out." And with that, he walked away. Edward and Stafford had to be content.

* * *

Meanwhile, Victor and Kevin were having a busy day at the Steamworks.

"Kevin? Where are those parts we need?"

"Right here, boss!" Kevin raced ahead.

"Hurry up, Kevin! I need my wheels oiled!" Gordon called, sitting on a siding. Kevin raced over.

"How are my pistons, Victor?" Percy asked. Victor puffed over to speak to him. Outside the Steamworks, another engine was waiting for her chance to go in. Emily rolled over to her.

"Hi, Molly. Are you waiting to go into the Steamworks?" She asked. Molly shyly looked away.

"Well, yes...but you p-probably have somewhere more important to b-be than me." She replied meekly. Emily smiled.

"Thanks, Molly!" She rolled on ahead into the busy Steamworks, leaving Molly behind. Molly sighed and looked down at her buffers. Suddenly, the Fat Controller's car pulled up, and its owner stepped out.

"Hello, Molly." The Fat Controller smiled. Molly tried to weakly smile back.

"H-hello, sir." She said quietly.

"I have an important new job for you. I want you to be the new Wellsworth station pilot and banker, as Edward is too busy now to help out there and run his own branch line." Molly was shocked! Why would anyone ask _her_ to do something important? But she couldn't refuse instructions from the Fat Controller...

"Y-yes, sir." She stuttered.

"Splendid!" The Fat Controller walked away, leaving Molly to her own anxiety.

* * *

Word of the exchange of duties flew around the island.

"Molly's a doormat! Edward may have been old, but at least he had a spine. How on earth is Molly supposed to keep the trucks in order? She's about as intimidating as Skiff!" Gordon grumbled to Thomas at Knapford.

"Molly is a perfectly fine engine," Thomas replied, "The Fat Controller clearly trusts her to handle the work. She's just a little anxious, that's all!"

"Pah!" Gordon grunted and looked down.

Molly arrived at Wellsworth and looked around the yard. She gulped nervously as she saw the long lines of trucks in the sidings.

* * *

"Well...this is my new home..." She muttered quietly to herself, and headed over to shunt some trucks. The trucks looked to each other as Molly meekly backed down onto them. They grinned and began bumping back and forth.

"Where's Edward?" The trucks chorused, "We want an engine who knows how to handle us! Not a mouse!" Molly cringed as she pulled forwards and shunted them towards the platform.

"P-please! I n-need to get you somewhere important! This yard n-needs to be o-organized!" She whistled, but the trucks weren't having it.

"Is that all you got? Or are you as yellow as your paint?" This was too much for Molly. She came to a stop and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She tried to say something, but was too upset to get anything out. She managed to limp over to the platform with considerable effort, and left the trucks for another engine to take away. After she was done with this, she limped onto a siding and shakily sighed.

"Why would anyone trust this important j-job to someone like me? I'm just g-going to m-mess it up..." Molly began to cry. Her driver pat her sympathetically.

"It's alright, Molly. We just have to do what we can. Come on." Molly sighed and rolled away to try to organize the yard.

* * *

Molly continued her work, but the trucks were continuing to be rather troublesome. So troublesome in fact, that Molly had to use her sandboxes just to keep them going through the yard. Her wheels gripped the rails furiously as she tried to keep the trucks in check.

"P-please, let me shunt you!" Molly stuttered as she shunted some trucks onto another siding. The trucks simply cackled back. Before Molly had had any time to get her bearings, she heard the loud blast of a whistle, and Gordon rolled into the station.

"Molly! I need a push up the hill! I've got a full express today!" He announced. Molly blushed meekly.

"Y-yes, Gordon. Right away!" She ran around the back of the train and buffered up to the coaches. After the guard's whistle had blown, the two engines started off. As they began to climb the hill, smoke and steam erupted from their funnels.

"Come on, Molly! Pick up the pace back there!" Gordon called to Molly. She, meanwhile, was having issues. She was out of sand, and her wheels couldn't push against the weight of the heavy coaches!

"I'm t-trying, Gordon!" She kept on pushing, but she couldn't help Gordon. Taking the complete weight of the coaches, Gordon couldn't keep going, and the train began to slow down.

"What's going on back there?" He called. Molly panted, trying to keep up the weight.

"I'm out of s-sand!" She cried, but it was too late. The express ground to a halt, right on the hill.

"MOLLY!" Gordon shouted in anger.

* * *

Edward had taken a train up to Wellsworth from the bottom station of his branch line, and was immediately informed of the train stuck on the hill.

"I'll help right away!" Edward was uncoupled from his coaches and raced towards the hill. Molly and Gordon had stalled half way up, and he buffered up behind.

"I've plenty of sand, so I can get you up as quickly as possible, Gordon!" Edward smiled.

"Good thing _someone_ can." Gordon muttered under his breath. Molly remained quiet, deeply ashamed in herself. With plenty of sand, Edward began pushing the express up the hill. Molly helped too, but she didn't say anything. Once Gordon was over the top, he grumbled away. Edward and Molly reversed back down the hill to the station.

"All in a day's work, eh, Molly?" Edward chuckled once they had reached the station. However, Molly simply rolled away to the sheds. Edward was surprised, and puffed towards her.

"Molly, are you alright?" He asked. Molly couldn't meet Edward's gaze as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"You probably don't want to hear about my problems. Go on, you have better things to do than listen to me mope."

"No, I insist."

"Edward, do you ever wonder why the Fat Controller entrusts you to do something important?"

"Err...sometimes, Molly."

"This is a job that requires someone who has c-confidence, and can m-manage trucks, and..." Molly sniffled, "...isn't m-me. I've done n-nothing but make a mess of things s-since I've started w-working here. I-I'll never be as good as you." Edward sighed, and smiled.

"Now, don't say that, Molly. The Fat Controller clearly trusted you with this job, because he knows, and _I_ know, that you are capable of being really useful in it. Anyone can do an important job if they set their mind to it. If you'd like, I could come here on my breaks over the next few days. To help you feel more confident." Edward gave a warm smile. Molly sucked up her tears and managed to force out a small smile.

"That would be w-wonderful, Edward. B-but only if you think it's worth your time..."

"Of course it is, Molly." Edward backed down onto his coaches, "First break tomorrow. Okay?" He whistled.

"O-okay." Molly meekly replied.

* * *

Over the next few days, Edward came to visit Molly in the yards every opportunity he could.

"Kind, but firm, Molly." He said as Molly attempted to shunt a long line of trucks in the yards.

"C-come on, you lot!" She whistled and began pushing hard. The trucks groaned as they bumped together, but didn't put up as much of a fight for Molly. Throughout the process, she and Edward worked together to keep the yard nice and organized, and to help other engines up the hill. And as they worked, Molly became more and more confident.

"Edward? Can you shunt those t-trucks into that siding over t-there, please?" She asked as she did extra work from across the yard. Edward peeped back and obliged. The yard ran like clockwork, and Molly was coming out of her shell. Soon enough, Molly could keep the yard running on her own, and Edward only watched as she kept everything in tip-top shape. He was filled with pride as he watched his successor shunt the last line of Troublesome Trucks onto their sidings.

"Splendid job, Molly! Stay at it!" Edward grinned. Molly whistled back happily.

* * *

That evening, Edward was talking to other engines at Tidmouth Sheds, filled with pride about Molly.

"She's such a quick learner! It's astounding how quick she's whipped the yard into shape! I feel relieved to know the yard is in good buffers!" He peeped, but Gordon's scoff cut him off.

"Just because she can shunt doesn't make her the next best thing since station pilots." He complained, "She still blundered up my express on the hill. When she makes up for that, then you can give her praise." Edward smirked.

"May I remind you, Gordon, that you couldn't make it over the hill without her help? I had to come and help you out!" Gordon simply grumbled in response to this, and went to sleep. As all the engines began to, it began to rain, and water covered the rails, making them rather slippery...

* * *

The following morning, Gordon rolled into Knapford for his express. Philip was being repaired, so Stafford had to shunt his coaches.

"Hurry up, Stafford! I haven't all morning! The express _cannot_ be kept waiting!" He whistled impatiently. Stafford rolled the coaches into place. He then rushed around the train to speak to Gordon.

"Gordon, I think you should take on sand before you go. You've got a full express today and you'll need it to make it all the way up the hill."

"Nonsense. I have _plenty_ of sand. And I simply cannot be late." And with that, the guard's whistle blew and Gordon rolled out of the station, leaving a nervous Stafford behind.

"Oh dear..."

* * *

Gordon thundered along the line, his coaches trundling along behind him. He was making good time, when...

"Botheration, these puddles are making it hard to stay in control!" Quickly, he began putting sand on the rails, allowing him to regain control of the heavy coaches. However, he failed to notice that he had used it all up after the wet section was cleared.

* * *

Molly was shunting trucks in the yards at Wellsworth when she heard Gordon thunder into the station and brake to a halt.

"D-do you need any h-help, Gordon?" Molly asked confidently, but to her surprise Gordon glared at her.

"No, thank you, Molly. I can make it up the hill alone. Without any help. From _you._ " Molly raised an eyebrow as Gordon's guard blew his whistle and the big engine started off again.

"I don't need that banker...I can make it up the hill all on my own." He grumbled as he began climbing the steep incline. However, as he began ascending, he felt his wheels begin to slip.

"Sand, please, driver!" Gordon called back. The driver went to turn on the sandbox, but they were all out of sand.

"Out of sand? But that's impossible! I had plenty when I left this morning!" But nonetheless, he slipped back down to the bottom of the hill. Molly was surprised to see Gordon's coaches emerging from under the bridge in front of the hill.

"What h-happened, Gordon? D-do you need h-help?" She asked. Gordon turned red with embarrassment.

"I've run out of sand." He grumbled, "I guess you could _try_ to help me up the hill." Molly grinned. This was her chance to prove herself! She buffered up behind the coaches and began to push.

"Come on! C-come on!" She panted as she and Gordon began climbing the steep hill once more. Gordon's wheels spun and spun, but he couldn't grip the rails.

"I'm slipping, Molly!" Gordon cried. Molly began frantically dumping sand on the rails.

"But I'm not!" Wheel turn by wheel turn, Molly managed to push Gordon and the express over the top of the hill. A surprised Gordon began coasting down the other side.

"Thank you, Molly!" Gordon called, although secretly he was rather shocked. A red-in-the-face Molly whistled back and began reversing down the hill.

"Phew..." She panted, before she heard a whistle. Edward was coming up the hill with some coaches, and gave an approving whistle. Molly grinned.

* * *

That evening, the Fat Controller came to see Molly in her sheds, along with Edward and Gordon.

"Well done, today, Molly! Edward's told me all about how much you've improved over the past few days. It appears that I made the right decision by moving you here full-time. You've been managing splendidly. I'm very proud of you." Molly blushed.

"T-thank you, sir." She beamed.

"Gordon? Do you have anything you'd like to say to Molly?" The Fat Controller turned to the big blue engine, who turned red with embarrassment.

"S-sorry, Molly. For being rude, that is." He smiled weakly, leaving Molly to smile back.

"It's okay, Gordon. At l-least I can be a bit more c-confident now." The two engines grinned at each other, while Edward and the Fat Controller looked at each other proudly.

* * *

A few days later, Gordon pulled into Wellsworth with his express, where Thomas was waiting with the local.

"Hello, Gordon!" Thomas snickered cheekily. Gordon's brow dropped.

"What's so funny, Thomas?" He asked dully. Thomas broke out into laughter.

"How does it feel knowing that Molly is stronger than you? You've been doing a lot of stalling on that hill lately. I guess it's called Gordon's Hill for a reason, eh?" Thomas' guard blew the whistle and the little engine scampered away laughing. Gordon scowled. He heard a whistle and looked over.

"Y-you want a p-push, Gordon?" Molly smiled. Gordon's expression softened.

"Sure, thank you, Molly."

* * *

Molly keeps the yard running like clockwork. Although she still isn't very assertive, she proves herself to be a valuable member of the team. She's much more confident in herself now, and is making both Edward and the Fat Controller prouder by the day.

"Anyone can do s-something important," she would say, "You just have to s-set your m-mind to it."

I'm inclined to agree. Aren't you?

 **THE END**

* * *

I did not expect to enjoy writing Molly this much. The stutter sort of came to me naturally as a trait this Molly should have, as she is mainly as Gordon describes her; a doormat. She is not assertive in the slightest, and does not have the confidence to stand up for herself, combined with rather slow self-esteem. Molly will appear in other stories in this new role, as it allows her to appear when engines need help up Gordon's Hill. Good grief did this episode go through a lot of changes! Bill and Ben were originally featured alongside Molly in an entirely different part of the episode, but I realized this was too isolated and didn't match up with what was going on. We'll see a lot of those two in the upcoming _A China Clay Christmas_ though. I wasn't originally planning on writing this one, but I'm very glad I did. Leave a review to tell me what you've thought of not only this story, but every story thus far! I'm always looking for feedback! As always, what's next:

\- _The Abominable Snow Engine_

 _\- Monkey Business_

 _\- Bugged_

 _\- Duck Season_

 _\- Merrick and the Meteorite_

 _\- The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon & Bear_


	15. The Abominable Snow Engine

**THE ABOMINABLE SNOW ENGINE**

It was winter on the Island of Sodor, and all the engines were hard at work. However, some of them were better at dealing with the ice and snow than others.

"Whoa!" Peter Sam cried as he skidded along the line with some trucks full of coal. The ice on the rails caused his wheels to slip and slide. He put some sand down as he approached a signal, and managed to brake to a stop.

"Careful, Peter Sam! This snow's hard to work with!" Rheneas called to him as he passed on the other line. Peter Sam turned red with shame.

"Of course! I can handle snow, Rheneas." He puffed onwards, towards the Blue Mountain Quarry.

* * *

"Going up! Ready for those trucks, Luke!" Owen called as Luke shunted some trucks onto his platform. Luke whistled and puffed away to collect more trucks, looking at the snow on the ground around him. Owen watched him, chuckling, before calling out to him.

"Like the snow, Luke?" He grinned. Luke smiled back.

"It's gorgeous, Owen! Snow's lovely stuff!" He bumped some trucks before whooshing into a tunnel.

"It's lovely indeed, Luke, but it can be dangerous. There's supposed to be a big blizzard tonight, and you better make sure you get nice and sheltered so you don't get covered in snow!" Owen shouted as Luke came out of another tunnel.

"I know! Getting stuck in the snow is no fun!" He chuckled, and looked over as Peter Sam's whistle sounded out through the quarry.

"Hello, everyone! I've got the new coal delivery!" Peter Sam called.

"Excellent! Put it right in the sheds over there, Peter Sam!" Owen replied. Peter Sam obliged and puffed over towards the sheds where Luke slept during the night. However, as he rolled towards them, he lost control on the icy rails. His trucks slid into the back of the shed and hit the buffers with a dull bump.

"Phew!" Peter Sam panted as he finally came to a stop. However, a rumbling from above the sheds caused him, Luke, Owen, and Merrick to look on with concern. Snow tumbled down from the roof and covered Peter Sam's trucks, as well as any way of entering the shed.

"Oops."

* * *

The two engine crews surveyed the snow-buried shed. They tried to find a way to get into the sheds, but the snow was too thick.

"We won't be able to dig a way in by the snow hits..." Luke's driver sighed.

"I'm sorry, Luke." Peter Sam peeped, embarrassed, "You can come stay at Crovan's Gate with me and the other engines if you'd like!"

"I've never stayed at the big sheds before..." Luke pondered, "It would keep me out of the cold, and I would get to spend time with all my friends..."

"It's no bother, really." Peter Sam assured.

"Alright, I'll stay in the big shed tonight. I don't see why I shouldn't." Luke replied. Peter Sam smiled.

"Splendid. We should leave now, before the snow gets worse." He blew his whistle, and he and Luke rolled away.

* * *

Sir Handel, meanwhile, was backing into the sheds after a long, hard day of working in the ice and snow. He was very tired, and looking forward to a good rest.

"Nice and warm...heh." He chuckled to himself as he shut his eyes. However, they popped open as he heard two whistles.

"Peter Sam...and Luke?" He muttered, bewildered. The two engines backed into the shed, next to Sir Handel.

"Evening, Sir Handel!" Luke greeted cheerfully. Sir Handel scowled.

"Evening, Luke." He grumped dully.

"I sort of snowed Luke out of his shed tonight, so I offered him a place to sleep. I don't think anyone will mind!" Peter Sam grinned.

"Not at all." Sir Handel snapped sarcastically.

"Great!" Peter Sam replied. Sir Handel groaned.

* * *

As the other engines returned to the shed, the snow began to pick up. By the time everyone had arrived, a blizzard was sweeping along in front of them.

"This weather's hard to deal with, eh?" Rheneas asked no one in particular, "Reminds me of a story, it does."

"Do please tell, Rheneas!" Luke replied chipperly.

"No one cares." Sir Handel grumbled.

"Well, alright then." Rheneas chuckled, and he began his story.

"A long time ago, there was an engine who worked on this railway who was rather reckless. One thing he was particularly dodgy around was snow.

'Stupid stuff! I can manage through it anyday!' He would say. We all tried to warn him, but he continued thinking that snow couldn't possibly get the best of him. Then, one day, He had to take a train on the day a big blizzard was due.

'Don't dally around! If you get stuck in the snow there's no way you can get out of that!' We told him, but the fool didn't listen. He stayed around in the yards taking on more water than he needed to, and by the time he left, the snow was really falling down. As hard as he tried, he couldn't get through the snow, and he eventually came to a stop. His crew left him to go to try and find help, but they were gone all night. In that time, the engine was covered in snow and frozen solid. When he was rescued, he was deemed unrepairable, and scrapped. However, if you still go out in a blizzard, you can see him, the Abominable Snow Engine, haunting the line and trying to get home. However, if he sees _you,_ he'll hunt you down until he captures you and turns into a slave of the cold, so you can suffer with him in his frozen fate."

"Wow, Rheneas! That's a spooky story!" Luke was astonished.

"Yeah, sure, it's great. Can we go to sleep now? The sooner I'm to sleep in this cold, the better." Sir Handel grumbled. Rheneas chuckled.

"He's probably right. We could all use some sleep." And with that, everyone settled down to sleep. Everyone except Luke, that is. He was excited to be in the same shed with all his friends.

* * *

"Psst. Sir Handel!" Luke whispered. The engine in question's eyes popped open.

"What is it, Luke?" He muttered through gritted teeth.

"This snow is really thick, isn't it?"

"Go to sleep, Luke."

"Oh, um, sorry."

Sir Handel chuckled and began snoring again.

"...Sir Handel?"

" _What,_ Luke?"

"Do you really there's a ghost engine out there? Like Rheneas said?"

"I don't know, Luke. Please go to sleep."

"Sorry."

"...Heh."

"Sir Handel?"

"WHAT, LUKE?"

"I'm scared. What if the snow engine comes here?" Sir Handel was getting rather tired of Luke, and wanted to get him out of the shed so he could get some shuteye. He looked out into the raging blizzard, and this gave him an idea. He grinned wickedly before looking to Luke.

"Well, Luke, if you're scared of old Frosty, why don't you scope out? See if he's around, if you get my meaning." Luke wasn't sure about going out into a blizzard, but he didn't want the Snow Engine to sneak up on him.

"Good idea, Sir Handel," Luke stammered, "I w-will, then." And with that, he reversed out of the shed, ran around, and raced off into the blizzard. Sir Handel smirked, and chuckled to himself before shutting his eyes.

* * *

Luke puffed his hardest through the blizzard, looking for any signs of another engine.

"H-here, Mr. Snow Engine!" He stuttered, squinting through the snow. He couldn't see anything but snow and ice.

"Brrr...it's really c-c-cold!" He shivered. There was no one else around, but he spotted some cliffs to shield him from the cold.

"Those'll keep me nice and warm..." He thought. He rolled between the tall cliffs and braked to a stop, as the snow raged on around him. It wasn't ideal, but it kept him warmer than being out in the blizzard.

"At least it's warmer in here. I guess there's no snow engine around, that's good. I better go back to the shed now." He blew his whistle and prepared to start leaving, but he heard a rumbling from the hills above.

"Huh?" Suddenly, snow began falling down, and covered Luke from smokebox to cab.

"AHH!" He cried, as it fell all around him. By the time the snow had stopped, Luke was completely buried. His crew had jumped clear, but Luke was stuck.

"Help!" Luke called, but the blizzard raged on around him.

* * *

"Sir Handel! Sir Handel!" Sir Handel's eyes popped open.

"LUKE, FOR THE LAST TIME I-"

"Luke? So you know where he is, then!" He was surprised to find Rheneas was the one speaking.

"Err...no, I don't." Sir Handel lied.

"Well, he's gone and we don't know where he is! It's dangerous for him to be out in this weather!"

"Maybe, he, erm, went out to search for that snow engine..."

"Sir Handel! You sent him out there, didn't you!?"

"Okay, fine, I did. Is it so much to ask for some sleep around here?"

"By sending another engine into a _blizzard_? How thick can you get?"

"Well, I-"

"Shut up. You sent Luke out there, so you're going out there to find him."

"In this cold? Are you serious?"

"You didn't have any problem sending _him_ out into the cold."

"Oh, alright." Sir Handel whistled, and grumbled away into the biting cold.

* * *

Luke's driver and fireman did the best they could to dig him out of the freezing snowdrift. Soon enough, Luke was able to move, although he was still covered in snow.

"F-f-finally," Luke shivered, "I'm g-g-going h-h-home. I'm g-g-giving S-s-sir H-h-handel a piece of my m-m-mind." And with considerable effort, he began to slowly steam home, covered in snow and ice.

* * *

Sir Handel wandered through the blizzard, looking for any sign of Luke.

"Luke? Luke? Where are you?" He called, but there was no trace of him.

"Come on, where are you? I want my beauty rest!" Sir Handel was about to go back down the line when he heard a whistle.

"Oh thank goodness, Luke! I-" He paused when he saw what was coming towards him. An engine, shivering, and covered with snow, was limping down the line towards him. There was only one thing it could be.

"THE ABOMINABLE SNOW ENGINE!" Sir Handel yelped. He started trying to reverse, but his wheels couldn't grip the icy rails.

"Help me, Sir Handel..." The monster shivered, "Help me, _please._ " Sir Handel screamed and finally managed to gain traction, before rocketing away. The monster sneezed, causing some of its snow to fall off.

"W-what does it t-take to get decent h-help?" Luke scowled, and continued braving on through the storm.

* * *

Sir Handel ran back towards the sheds as fast as he could. He had never been more frightened in his life!

"I'M TOO YOUNG TO FREEZE!" He wailed, as he approached a set of points. The blizzard had frozen them solid, and they were against him!

"Whoa!" Sir Handel wailed as he flew off the line and into a snowdrift. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but Sir Handel was stranded.

"Help!" He cried, before promptly shivering to himself.

* * *

Luke continued puffing through the blizzard, the cold wind biting his frozen face.

"Must get home...must get home..." He forced out through chattering teeth. Finally, he saw the sheds ahead, and limped inside their warm walls.

"Luke! You're safe!" Peter Sam grinned, after seeing his snow-covered compatriot limp into the sheds.

"Just a little c-c-cold." Luke smiled weakly, before looking around, "Where's Sir Handel?"

"He went out into the blizzard to try and find you!" Rheneas explained.

"He's out there? We have to go out and f-f-find him!" Luke chattered.

"Don't, Luke! I'm not sending anyone else out there. It's too dangerous. Sir Handel can get back. He's like a cockroach, he is." Rheneas chuckled.

"I guess..." Luke sighed. Rheneas smiled at him.

"Sorry for scaring you with the whole 'Abominable Snow Engine' business. I made the whole thing up, if it makes you feel better."

"Really?" Luke said thoughtfully, "You made the whole thing up?"

* * *

By the following morning, the snow had died down, and the engines were all looking forward to the day's work. Sir Handel still hadn't returned, and the other engines were beginning to grow worried.

"I hope he's alright..." Luke told Rheneas as they were stoked up. However, a honk of a horn cut them off.

"Morning, all," Rusty greeted, clearly stifling laughter, "Look who I found in the snow!" Behind Rusty was an ice and snow covered Sir Handel, with wide eyes and chattering teeth. The other engines burst out into laughter.

"Well, Sir Handel," Luke chimed in, "I guess there really was an Abominable Snow Engine out in that storm. But I didn't know he managed to get you!" As the other engines resumed their laughter, Sir Handel tried to say something. However, he was too cold to do so, and promptly decided to simply grumble until he thawed out.

* * *

On another part of the railway, an engine was sitting on the tall, snow-covered cliffs in which snow had crashed down on Luke. An icicle fell from its frozen buffers, before it whistled and a blizzard appeared. As soon as it had formed, it disappeared, and the engine atop the cliff with it.

 **THE END**

* * *

This was a funny one. The dialogue was very, very snappy for this one, and I think nailed Sir Handel's character pretty well. He's petty, calculating, and narcissistic; the perfect setup for a villain against a bubbly character like Luke. Visualizing this one was just a blast, as snow is always gorgeous when done in Thomas. In terms of what the Snow Engine himself is, I imagined it being Luke's model, but with new ice-colored textures and with snow and ice covering it, as well as red eyes with black sclera. A sort of Luke-Mr. Freeze hybrid. Please leave reviews! I cannot stress this enough! I am always looking for new feedback on how to improve my stories, as well as just hearing what you guys think, and are looking forward to! As always, what's next:

\- _Monkey Business_

\- _Bugged_

 _\- Duck Season_

 _\- Merrick and the Meteorite_

 _\- The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon and Bear_


	16. Monkey Business

**MONKEY BUSINESS**

Harold the Helicopter was completing his usual patrol flight one evening when he saw an abnormal sight in the animal park.

"That's funny...there never are usually lorries in the animal park..." He thought. He swooped closer, getting within hearing range, before calling out to the keepers below.

"What's business this evening, chaps?" He said. The keepers looked up.

"We're getting the monkeys into their new exhibit, Harold." One explained, "They're a bit feisty, so we have to take extra special care of them to make sure they don't escape."

"Splendid, chaps. Carry on!" Harold whirred away. The keepers began winding down for the night after the last monkey had been let into the enclosure. However, no one noticed that they forgot to close the gate...

* * *

Scruff had been to the works to be mended, and was returning home to the waste dump.

"It's so nice to be back out on the open rails again," he smiled, "Sitting on the works for so long just wasn't my style. I wonder how Whiff's doing?" He approached the junction leading up to the dump and braked to a stop at the signal.

"It's great to be home!" He chuckled to himself, before the signal arm dropped. He whistled, and headed down the line towards the waste dump. When he pulled in, it was just as busy as ever. Rubbish was being emptied into trucks, and Whiff was rushing back and forth.

"Hey, Whiff! I'm back!" Scruff whistled.

"Sorry, Scruff, can't talk! Lots of rubbish to shift!" Whiff rolled ahead, shunting more and more trucks. Scruff chuckled, and promptly began shunting his trucks.

* * *

It was a long hard day of work at the Waste Dump, and by the evening, Scruff was exhausted. He backed into the sheds, his eyes shutting almost before his buffers touched the bar at the back.

"Night, Whiff..." He whispered, before snoring. However, he didn't notice that Whiff didn't go to sleep with him...

* * *

The following morning, Scruff woke up and was surprised to find Whiff, still hard at work.

"Whiff? Did you sleep last night?" Scruff asked. Whiff had bags under his eyes, and his glasses were filthy, but he still smiled.

"I didn't have time to. We have to stay to quota, Scruff. Rubbish is very important, and I can't dally around when there's work to do!" He rammed into some more trucks, leaving a very concerned Scruff behind.

* * *

Later that day, Scruff had to pick up some rubbish wagons from Knapford.

"Poor Whiff. He's overworking himself, and he might get hurt..." He sighed, "He needs to see that there's more to life than work..." However, he heard a door opening and saw the Fat Controller walking out of his office. He got an idea, and rumbled over to him.

"Sir! Sir!" Scruff called out, stopping the Fat Controller in his tracks.

"Erm, yes?" He asked, "What seems to be the problem, Scruff?"

"I'm worried about Whiff, sir. He stayed up last night shunting rubbish trucks, and didn't get any sleep. He's too stuck in his routine, and I think he might hurt himself if he keeps on overworking. Can you give him a holiday for a few days, sir? I'm sure I can manage the Waste Dump on my own." The Fat Controller pondered what Scruff said.

"Whiff does deserve a rest for doing such hard work," he said, "I'm sure having him out of action for a little bit would be alright. Thank you for telling me, Scruff. You're clearly a good friend." Scruff grinned.

* * *

Whiff, however, wasn't as happy.

"I can't just idle about while there's work to do! The dump is very busy, and I haven't time for a holiday!" He told Scruff once he had been told the news.

"There's more to life than work, Whiff! You're going to hurt yourself if you keep working as hard as you are! Everyone needs a rest, especially you at this point!" Scruff responded, "I'm sure that I can manage the dump on my own."

"Alright, then." Whiff sighed, and rumbled away.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Fat Controller was in his office, when the telephone rang.

"Hello?...Oh, how could I forget the shipment of food for the animal park! Botheration!...Yes, of course. I'll send an engine right away...Yes, okay. Goodbye." He hung up his telephone and slapped his forehead.

"Bother that telephone..." He muttered, "I know he's supposed to be on holiday, but I need an engine to make that delivery." He picked up the telephone and dialed a number.

* * *

Whiff wandered along the line, approaching Wellsworth.

"Silly Scruff...I don't need a holiday...there's _far_ too much work to do..." He muttered. He approached Wellsworth, and saw Molly, shunting some trucks onto a siding.

"Hey, Molly!" Whiff peeped. Molly was pleased to see her friend, and whistled back.

"H-hello, Whiff! W-what b-brings you d-down here? The d-dump's a l-long w-way away."

"Scruff thinks I'm working myself too hard, so the Fat Controller gave me a holiday for a few days. I personally think it's ridiculous. You can _never_ work too hard!" Molly was unsure about Whiff had said, but before she could respond, the yard manager walked up to them.

"Sorry to interrupt your holiday, Whiff, but there's an order of food for the animals in the animal park that needs to be taken from Brendam Docks. There are no other engines available, so you'll have to do it."

"Right away, sir! This'll be a good run. Goodbye, Molly!" Whiff blew his whistle and rolled away, leaving a concerned Molly behind.

* * *

At Brendam Docks, the food delivery had been unloaded, and Salty was shunting vans for the food to be loaded into. He was having trouble finding empty trucks to use for the train.

"Shiver me axles! Where's a blasted van?" He muttered. Finally, looking on an old siding, he found an empty van. It was rusty and dented, but it was the only one around.

"It'll have to do." He said, and coupled up to it. He didn't notice that the coupling itself was rusty, and starting to break...

* * *

Whiff puffed into the Docks. He was looking forward to doing some hard work.

"I'll show Scruff!" He muttered. He saw his train waiting for him.

"Splendid!" He smiled to himself, before backing down. Salty rolled alongside.

"Ahoy, Whiff!" He grinned, "How goes it?"

"Fine, thank you, Salty." Whiff smiled, "Just making a delivery."

"Good to know, Whiff." Salty chuckled. Whiff's guard blew his whistle, and with a jolt Whiff started off. However...

"Wait, Whiff!" Salty cried, "You've left a van behind!" But Whiff was already out of sight.

* * *

At the Animal Park, one animal had snuck out of his enclosure.

"Ooh-ahh." A monkey said, as he ducked behind a food cart, watching a mother and her daughter walk by. He heard an unfamiliar noise, and covered his ears.

"Ook, ook..." The monkey grumbled. Whiff rolled into the animal park station with his trucks filled with food for the animals.

"Good to see that you've arrived, Whiff!" The parkkeeper smiled. Whiff chuckled.

"No trouble at all, sir." He smiled. However, when the parkkeeper began to open the trucks, he was upset.

"You've left the monkeys' bananas behind! You have to go back to the docks and get them!"

"I'm dreadfully sorry, sir. I'll go back to the docks right away!" Whiff was uncoupled from the trucks, and began to leave. However, the monkey didn't want the unfamiliar thing to leave without him seeing it, so he bounded forwards and leapt onto Whiff's bunker. Whiff wasn't aware of his presence, so the monkey simply stayed on for the ride.

* * *

Back at the docks, Cranky was unloading another load of bananas from a ship. Salty was speaking to him, but he was listening.

"...Whiff should be here at any moment to collect his other truck! So please be attentive for when he gets here!" Salty explained.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it Salty..." Cranky muttered. Suddenly, he heard a loud whistle and was startled.

"WHOA!" Cranky cried, and dropped his crate of bananas. Whiff rolled into the docks, right into its path.

"Hello, I forgot my-" Whiff was cut off by a load squelch. Salty and Cranky cringed, before looking at the sight before them. Whiff was covered in squished bananas and peels, and looked very sticky and uncomfortable.

"Ouch." He said dully. The monkey was still sitting atop Whiff's bunker, and the smell of bananas filled his nose.

"Ooh...banana..." He thought, and leapt up onto the cab. He beat his chest, before digging into the banana mush on top of Whiff.

"Hey!" Whiff cried. His crew jumped out of the cab and watched the monkey dig into the bananas.

"How are we supposed to get him back to the park? We can't exactly have him ride Whiff!" The driver said. Whiff, however, looked back to a couple of empty vans, and this gave him an idea.

"What if we took a crate of bananas, put it in one of the vans, and then used it to lure the monkey inside? We can keep it safe in a van." The driver and fireman thought this was a splendid idea, and they set to work. One of the crates of bananas was put inside an empty van. Salty shunted it into place as Whiff continued getting chowed down on by the monkey.

"Please hurry up! He's starting to run out of banana!" He said concernedly. Finally, Whiff's driver held the door open to the van, with a crate of bananas sitting inside. The monkey smelled the bananas, and leapt off of Whiff and into the van. As he began to dig into the bananas, Whiff's crew slammed the door shut and locked it. Whiff sighed in relief.

"Phew. Finally." And with that, and the remaining shipment of bananas, Whiff left for the animal park.

* * *

The parkkeeper was relieved to see Whiff return with two vans. One with the bananas, and the other containing a very full monkey.

"Thank goodness you managed to catch our monkey! We are worried about what happened to him! Sorry for the hassle..." The park workers picked up the tired monkey and returned him to his enclosure. The monkey burped loudly.

"It's no problem at all. All in a day's work." Whiff's driver chuckled. Whiff simply scowled, as a banana peel fell off his lamp iron.

"Just make sure to properly keep your animals enclosed!" He said, and rolled away to get cleaned and have a rest.

* * *

Scruff was exhausted after a long day of working at the waste dump, and was surprised to see a spotless Whiff sheepishly reverse into the sheds.

"Whiff? What're you doing back here?" He asked. Whiff smiled.

"I just wanted to apologize to you for being so rude about my holiday. You did something that was very thoughtful and I was very ungrateful about it. I'm sorry."

"Well, good to see that you've come around," Scruff chuckled, "Hopefully, you enjoy the rest of your holiday as well."

"I think I will, after a day like today..." Whiff laughed. Scruff laughed too, but then he sniffed the air and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you smell like bananas?"

"It's a long story..."

* * *

For the rest of the time Whiff had off, he was very relaxed. He bathed in the sun and really enjoyed himself. Even when he returned to work, and he was still a hard worker, he looked at life with a new philosophy.

"You can appreciate a rest just as much as you can appreciate hard work," he told Scruff, "It's all about finding balance. And finding that balance is no monkey business!"

 **THE END**

* * *

I based this one on a toy. Back when "Spills and Thrills" was being released for Season 17, a series of Take-n-Play toys were released to coincide with it that did not have any counterpart on the release. The one that stood out to me the most was "Whiff's Banana Blooper", which this story just spouted out from. I wanted to teach a unique moral with this one too, and I think "finding a balance between rest and hard work" is a pretty good one for a character like Whiff, who I think I've written as a bit of a workaholic. Normally Whiff's character flaw is that "He's smelly", but I think it would be better to write a Whiff story based around his dedication to his job, and I think making him a little bit _too_ dedicated is right up his alley. Please leave reviews to tell what you think, but I have a question. Would you like to wait a little longer than usual for the _Sudrian Surprises_ episodes, so I could release them all at once, or would you like me to release them sequentially like previous chapters? Say what you would like in a review! As always, what's next:

\- _Bugged_

 _\- Duck Season_

 _\- Merrick and the Meteorite_

 _\- The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon and Bear_


	17. Bugged!

**BUGGED!**

There are many quarries on the Skarloey Railway. However, one in particular was one that the engines always had to avoid. That's because it was occupied by the Ministry of Defence, and off-limits to the little engines. Because none of the engines were allowed up there, the military had their own engine to shunt the sidings. This engine never left the quarry, so none of the other engines had ever seen it. Currently, however, they didn't have time to focus on this mystery engine, as the Blue Mountain Quarry was busier than ever. Engines traveled from terrace to terrace, delivering stone for Paxton and the other engines to take away.

"Everyone's working real hard down there, huh Owen?" Merrick commented, as he watched the little engines rushing back and forth below.

"Certainly, Merrick. It is the busiest time of the year, after all!" His comrade chuckled, as heard a whistle and looked to the upper terrace. Rheneas came down the line with a long line of stone trucks. He whistled loudly.

"Look out below!" He called, and began picking up speed.

"Mind your pace, Rheneas!" Owen shouted.

"Don't worry Owen, I-WHOA!" The trucks surged against Rheneas and he sped through the quarry. He cried out as he approached a bend in the track.

"Stop, Rheneas!" Skarloey cried as Rheneas sped past. He braked his hardest, but he soon enough reached a bend in the line. Despite trying to regain control, he flew off the rails and into one of the stone crushers.

"Rheneas! Are you alright?" Skarloey rolled over to the wreck.

"I'm fine." Rheneas forced out, but he groaned in pain.

* * *

Luckily, no one was hurt. Paxton came by with Rocky and lifted Rheneas onto a flatbed.

"Is he going to be alright, Rocky?" Skarloey asked.

"The damage seems pretty severe, bur he'll be repaired alright. I'm sure of it." Rocky smiled. Skarloey was still concerned.

"Keep your head held high, Skarloey. He'll be okay. Right, Rheneas?" Paxton looked back at Rheneas, who smiled as much as he could before wincing in pain. The other engines could only watch with concern as the cavalcade, and their friend upon it, rolled away.

* * *

That evening at the sheds, the little engines were in a buzz.

"How much extra work will we have to do?" Sir Handel asked, "We don't exactly have extra engines to work up at the quarry!"

"How _dare_ you complain about extra work when Rheneas could need a rebuild at this rate!" Skarloey shouted with outrage.

"I have a right to wonder about extra work, Skarloey!"

"Is Rheneas going to be alright? I hope he's going to be alright..." Luke fretted.

"Can everyone stop fighting?" Peter Sam wailed in anguish as the noise grew. As the engines argued and worried, a familiar figure walked up to the sheds. Rusty, the only engine not arguing, saw him.

"GUYS, BE QUIET! IT'S THE THIN CONTROLLER!" He shouted. The engines calmed down, although Skarloey and Sir Handel still stared daggers into one another.

"Now, in light of Rheneas' absence, I have asked for another engine to come and help out. The Ministry of Defence has kindly agreed to let their shunting engine that works up in the old slate quarry help us out over the course of Rheneas' repairs. I must, however, inform you of some rules. The engine's work is highly secretive, so we _cannot_ ask him about it, or we could create a lot of trouble for a lot of people. Understood?" The Thin Controller completed his sentence, before staring at all his engines and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir." They all said back. They were rather uncomfortable with the prospect of a top-secret engine working with them, but they agreed nonetheless.

"Splendid. I don't want to hear that any of you caused _him_ trouble, either." He looked straight to Sir Handel.

"What?" He asked bluntly. The Thin Controller looked him stone-cold in the eyes. He cringed.

* * *

The following day, the engines began their work at the quarry. Not long after everything had started, they heard something approaching the quarry.

"Huh? Who could that be?" Merrick asked. The voice got closer, and louder,

"Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!" All activity in the quarry halted as a small, dark-green electric engine entered. He had four wheels, covered by sideplates which proudly displayed the text "Ministry of Defence". He had no cab, and his body was rather squat. His bufferbeams on both ends had yellow and black hazard stripes. In the middle of both green sides of his body was the logo of the Ministry of Defence, and under it was the number "103". He smiled proudly upon entering the quarry, before honking his horn loudly.

"Good morning!" He called, "I'm here to help out with the workload! What is my first job, civilian?" He looked to Rusty, who stared back at him with surprise.

"Err...you can call me Rusty." The little diesel muttered awkwardly as work at the quarry started up once more. The military engine turned pink with embarrassment.

"Oh, um, apologies, Rusty. Everything's titles with us military chaps." He rolled alongside Rusty.

"Titles? Do you not have a name?" Rusty asked, chuckling.

"Afraid not, civi-erm, Rusty. Just a title. Cadet, it is. Don't like it much. But when they don't call me that, they call by my number: 103. Since it's the closest thing I have to a name, I guess I'll go by that. Nowhere near as good as 'Rusty' for a name I'm afraid." 103 smiled. Rusty laughed; he liked the newcomer already.

"Your trucks are over there, 103. Hopefully you enjoy yourself while you work with us." He looked over at some stone trucks.

"Certainly, Rusty. Hopefully, the other engines think the same way, eh?" 103 honked and began quickly shunting his stone trucks. Rusty was briefly surprised, before chuckling.

* * *

103 went about his work with extreme vigor and dedication. Stones went everywhere they needed to go with remarkable efficiency, and Rusty was impressed. When he spoke to the other engines about it later during their break, however, they seemed to have a very different opinion.

"He's very suspicious to me." Sir Handel stated.

" _Suspicious_? What do you mean by that?" Rusty raised an eyebrow, bewildered.

"He moseys his way into our quarry and does _our_ job better than most of us. Does that seem a little fishy to you?"

"Hate to agree with Sir Handel, but he's right. The little engine just rubs me the wrong way." Skarloey put in. Rusty was astonished.

"I never knew _you_ to be a judgmental one, Skarloey." He gasped. Peter Sam and Luke looked at each other nervously.

"He does perhaps seem a little _too_ efficient." Peter Sam put in meekly.

"And his job is highly secretive. That's a _little_ unsettling." Luke added. Rusty was flabbergasted.

"You lot are just superstitious! 103's a fine worker, and I hope you all come to your senses and see that!" Rusty then left, leaving the other four engines in his wake. However, a whistle sounded out and another engine arrived.

"Och aye, of course I get stuck dragging supplies up here when I could be taking passengers." Duncan grumbled furiously as he entered. Peter Sam and Luke each raised an eyebrow and looked at each other. Sir Handel and Skarloey continued glaring at 103 as he shunted some trucks past Merrick on the cliffs above.

"What are you lot so wound up about?" Duncan snapped, tired of being neglected.

"The Ministry of Defence lent the railway an engine to do Rheneas' work while he's being repaired. He can't talk about his work and he gives me the creeps." Sir Handel muttered. Duncan's eyebrows dropped.

"Did you say Ministry of Defence?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes." Sir Handel snapped, "Get your hearing checked!"

"That's nae good." Duncan said, "Because that's exactly what happened before..."

"What do you mean? Where?" Luke asked. Duncan sighed.

"A long time ago, before I came to work on this railway, I worked in a factory for many years. I was the youngest engine there for a while after my arrival. That is, until an engine from the military showed up. At first, he was friendly, but then the factory started selling their engines off one by one. We were losing money, and eventually I was the last engine left, along with the military twit. However, it all came crashing down and I was sheeted up. I was bought by this railway and was saved, but I found out that the military had bought up the factory to store explosives, and the reason the engine was sent to work with us was to see how much maintenance the rails needed." Duncan finished his story, clearly red-hot with rage at the memory, "You can't trust those military engines. They take your trust and then WHAM! They squash your livelihood like a bug."

"Duncan, are you saying we've been _bugged_?" Skarloey spluttered with disbelief.

"Certainly possible, mate." Duncan replied, "Keep your guard up." And with that, he whistled and rolled away, leaving the other four engines very worried.

* * *

Rusty and 103 worked side-by-side over the next few hours.

"Hup-two-three-four! Hup-two-three-four!" 103 chanted. Rusty chuckled as they shunted some trucks onto Owen's platform.

"You've been really fitting in, 103!" Owen looked at the little shunter.

"Simply doing my job, civ-Owen!" 103 rolled away to get more trucks. Skarloey was shunting nearby when he heard 103 stop.

"What does he want?" Skarloey muttered under his breath. He didn't think they were being "bugged" like Duncan had said, but he still didn't trust 103. Rusty rolled alongside the military engine himself.

"Something wrong, 103?" He asked.

"That is Skarloey, right?" 103 queried. Rusty raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why?" He watched as 103 rolled over towards Skarloey. 103 spoke up, startling Skarloey.

"Pardon me, Skarloey. I just wanted to speak to you for a moment."

"Um, sure. Go ahead."

"I was wondering if you had any advice for me concerning Rheneas' duties, seeing as you know him the best. It's hard to do the job of someone who's considered a hero around here." Skarloey was surprised; he didn't expect to get asked such a question.

"Erm...I guess run around the train when you have to take trucks down from the upper terrace instead of using the loop. Rheneas says it saves time." 103 smiled happily.

"Thank you, civilian-Oh bother, Skarloey. That'll help me keep to time. Thanks!" 103 rolled away. Skarloey chuckled.

"Maybe I was wrong to judge him; he really seems like he just wants to do his job..." Skarloey then returned to his shunting, leaving a watching Rusty to smile.

* * *

103 followed Skarloey's advice, and was soon enough picking up a load of stone from Merrick on his way back down.

"Here you go, 103. A fresh load of stone for you!" Merrick yawned as he loaded the little shunter with more stone.

"Thank you, Merrick." As the crane and shunter chatted, Sir Handel came rumbling down the mountain with some empty trucks.

"Look at how much stone he thinks he can take! Like a beetle pushing its dung..." He muttered, whistling as he passed 103.

"Hello, civilian!" 103 called out. However, he hadn't noticed that Merrick had fallen asleep whilst loading stone, and as a result was unconsciously loading too many of them. 103 noticed this, and called out to Merrick.

"Merrick, stop!" He cried. Merrick jolted awake.

"Wuzzat!?" He shouted with alarm.

"You're overloading me! There's no way I can start off now; it's too heavy!" 103 tried to start, but the trucks were far too full for him to even get his wheels to turn. Sir Handel put his empties on a siding nearby, and was surprised to here 103 call to him.

"Sir Handel? Do you think you could help me down the mountain? I've overloaded my trucks and I can't seem to start off."

"Erm...sure." Sir Handel headed back up and buffered up behind 103. Pulling hard, they managed to get the heavy trucks down the mountain. Once they reached the stone crusher, 103 honked gratefully.

"Thanks, Sir Handel! I don't know how I could have done it without you!" 103 then rushed off to get more stone, leaving a bewildered Sir Handel behind.

"Huh. Guess the bug isn't so perfect after all..." He chuckled, and then went back to get more trucks.

* * *

In another part of the quarry, Rusty was working hard.

"Come on, you lot!" He shouted at some trucks. He didn't know that they still had their brakes on, and as a result he pushed hard against the unmoving trucks. He grunted and groaned, but the trucks didn't move. Eventually, there was a loud "BANG", and smoke erupted from Rusty's engine.

"Bother!" Rusty groaned, "I've overheated!" 103 heard his friend and rolled over towards him.

"Are you alright, Rusty?" He asked.

"Well, I can't move. That's a bit of a problem there."

"I'll take you back to Crovan's Gate. They'll be able to repair you."

"Thanks, mate." 103 buffered up behind Rusty, and began pushing him back to Crovan's Gate.

* * *

The engines had all finished their work for the day, and returned home to the sheds at Crovan's Gate. When 103 and Rusty arrived, the Thin Controller was talking to his engines.

"Rusty! Good to see you're back! I have an important job for you tonight. You see..."

"Erm, I don't think I'm going anywhere tonight, sir. I've overheated." Rusty said quietly.

"Oh dear. I didn't want to do this, _but_..." The Thin Controller was cut off by a loud whistle coming from the standard gauge line.

"Evening, all!" Logan the Industrial Engine rolled in with a few trucks of coal.

"Good evening, Logan." The Thin Controller said, "I see you have this month's supply of coal! Splendid!"

"One thing about that, sir." Logan hesitated, "This is a bit of a bad batch. It'll steam fine, but you can spark with it. Be careful." He was uncoupled from the trucks and rolled away. The Thin Controller turned back to his engines after Logan had left.

"As I was saying, I didn't want to have to do this, but Peter Sam, I need you to take some dynamite up to Blue Mountain for blasting." 103 was astonished.

"Didn't you hear the Sentinel? The coal's bad, and that'll cause sparks! It's too dangerous for a steam engine to take dynamite, _especially_ with bad coal. Let _me_ do it, sir! I won't spark and I know my way around explosives!" 103 quickly stopped himself. The Thin Controller looked back sharply.

"I'm sorry, cadet, but the Ministry gave me specific instructions to keep you at the quarry. Peter Sam is an experienced engine who can handle himself with dynamite."

"Erm, sir..." Peter Sam put in, but 103 cut him off.

"Alright, but don't say you weren't warned!" 103 rolled away, leaving Rusty in the shed. Peter Sam looked nervously at the departed engine.

"But he's _right..._ " He muttered nervously.

* * *

Up at Blue Mountain, Luke was beginning to fall asleep in his sheds when he heard 103's horn sounded out. The little shunter backed into the berth next to him.

"Oh, um, hello." Luke greeted awkwardly.

"I can't believe it. Peter Sam might blow himself up!" 103 grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"The Thin Controller is letting Peter Sam take dynamite up here, when they've just gotten a bad shipment of coal! It's far too dangerous." 103 sighed.

"You really seem to know a lot about explosives." Luke said.

"Of course! I work with t-Oh, bugger." 103 stopped himself and turned red, "You heard nothing."

"Alright." Luke responded awkwardly. 103 sighed again.

"I wish I had more freedom. It's no fun being shut up in an old quarry all day. This is the most room I've ever had to run in my whole life. You and your friends are very lucky, you know."

"Thanks," Luke chuckled, losing some of his discomfort.

"So how long have you been working here?" 103 asked. Luke smiled, and the two began chatting the night away. Owen saw this and looked to Merrick, before starting to say something. However, he saw his friend was asleep, and chuckled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Peter Sam was at Crovan's Gate, having his trucks loaded with dynamite. Paxton had brought a load from the mainland, and the two engines talked as the dynamite was carefully loaded in Peter Sam's trucks.

"This is so nerve-wracking." Peter Sam spoke with great trepidation.

"Dynamite's dangerous stuff. One spark and you could go up in flames! BOOM!" Paxton laughed, while Peter Sam began to sweat.

"Yeah, b-boom." He stuttered. The guard's whistle blew, and Peter Sam slowly started off.

"He seemed wound up," Paxton remarked as the little engine disappeared, "Was it something I said?"

* * *

Peter Sam rolled along the line, going as slowly as possible. Nonetheless, sparks began to fly from his funnel.

"Oh no!" He cried, but the sparks merely fell on the tarpaulin covering one of the trucks. He sighed in relief, and continued on. However, he hit a bump on the line and the tarpaulin came lose, exposing some of the dynamite to the sparks coming from Peter Sam's funnel.

* * *

It was early morning by the time Peter Sam arrived at the quarry. 103 and Luke had fallen asleep after their long night of talking, but were woken up by Peter Sam's whistle.

"Here!" Peter Sam called, relieved to have not blown himself up. However, smoke began rising from his trucks. 103's eyes widened in alarm.

"Code Red! Code Red! Lit dynamite!" He cried, and sped out of the shed. Peter Sam wailed in horror.

"Civilian! Uncouple yourself!" A nearby shunter uncoupled Peter Sam from the trucks. 103 then rushed in front of him.

"Quick! Switch me onto an old track! I need lots of old sidings!" He cried. The men ran over and switched the points. 103 pushed the lit truck of dynamite out of the quarry, leaving an astonished Peter Sam and Luke behind.

* * *

103 quickly rolled along an old abandoned track. He searched the line up and down for an old abandoned siding, and saw one amidst a bunch of trees.

"Perfect!" He said, and his driver hopped down. He pulled the lever, switching the points, and hopped back aboard. 103 rolled into this siding and banged into the truck, knocking it off the rails into the clearing before scuttling away.

* * *

Back at the quarry, Peter Sam and Luke were frozen in fear until they heard a loud "BOOM" coming from the quarry.

"103, NO!" Peter Sam cried. Luke looked sadly down. A couple of the men took off their hats and held them to their chests.

"He sacrificed himself to save me." Peter Sam began to tear up. However, a loud horn sounded out.

"It's 103! He's alright!" Owen called. Covered in debris and dust, but otherwise unharmed, 103 rolled into the quarry.

"Mission accomplished, civilians. Everyone is safe!" He grinned proudly. The quarry broke out into applause. Luke and Peter Sam whistled loudly. Even Merrick woke up!

"Hooray for 103!" He called.

* * *

When the sun was up, the Thin Controller came to the quarry. With him was a man in uniform no one recognized. 103, however, turned stone-faced.

"Captain Bridges, sir." He said. The captain smiled and saluted.

"I heard of your heroics today, cadet. You did us ministry lads proud, son." He pat 103 on the top, causing the little engine to smile.

"Your captain and I spoke, and agreed that some sort of reward is in order. So, what would you like, 103?" The Thin Controller said. 103 began to ponder.

"Well, sirs, I..."

"How about a name, 103? You did you'd like one." Rusty, who had just arrived, put in.

"That would be splendid." 103 grinned. Sir Handel passed again, shunting trucks full of debris from the explosion, which he had fetched to clean up.

"You really were like a beetle there, weren't you?" He muttered, "Like the dynamite was ruddy dung." 103's face lit up.

"How about Beetle, sir?" He said. Captain Bridges scratched his bearded chin.

"A bit unusual, but I like it. Beetle it is, then." The newly named Beetle smiled proudly.

* * *

When Rheneas returned, Skarloey excitedly told him of all the previous weeks' events.

"Wow. That Beetle really is a little hero, isn't he?" Rheneas chuckled.

"Indeed. Funny thing about it is, when we first met him, Duncan said we were being bugged! Can you imagine that!"

"Well, with a name like Beetle, I'd imagine you were!" The two engines laughed.

"I guess _this_ bugging wasn't a bad thing. Was it?" They burst out laughing again.

 **THE END**

* * *

This is the longest story I've written in a while. Beetle's a fun little character; dedicated, sharp, and brave. Just exploring his interactions with the other engines was fun in this episode. As heavily implied, Beetle works in the old quarry, shunting explosives for the Ministry of Defence. I was originally going to have him work alongside the other narrow gauge engines with a new duty of taking explosives from Crovan's Gate to the old quarry. However, I decided against it as his character is best kept on the down-low. Do you like Beetle? Leave a review to tell me, as well as what you've thought of other stories! I've decided I am going to release the Sudrian Surprises episodes one by one as I finish them, although I'll end up on a daily schedule, releasing a new one every day. Hard to believe we are this close to the end of Set 1! _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ is currently having its songs written, but I will start writing it soon. As always, what's next:

\- _Duck Season_

 _\- Merrick and the Meteorite_

 _\- The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon and Bear_


	18. Duck Season

**DUCK SEASON**

Summertime is the busiest time on the Island of Sodor. More passengers come to the island than at any time of the year, and as a result some engines can feel rushed off their wheels. One of these engines was Lucian. His scenic branch line was especially popular around this time of year, and his coaches began to get heavier and heavier.

"Phew!" He said, whilst puffing through the woods with his heavy coaches trundling along behind him. He loved his branch line, but he felt as though he needed a rest.

"These coaches get heavier every day!" He panted.

* * *

Duck the Great Western Engine's trains, however, seemed to be getting lighter.

"Ready for release, slippies?" He asked his slip coaches while he sped along the Little Western.

"Ready, Duck!"

"Certainly, Duck!"

"Capital, old chap!"

"Alright. Here goes!" Duck whistled and released his rear coach. It rolled along towards the platform, before coming to a stop as the guard braked. The passengers all got out, and Duck grinned proudly. Donald and Douglas rolled by with a long train of goods, double-heading. They whistled and Duck grinned back.

"Success!" He chuckled. Every summer, the Little Western seemed to get busier than ever, but still ran like clockwork. Its engines had a routine and it helped them all the way through the busy season. Duck rolled through Arlesburgh Junction on his route to Knapford.

"There are only two ways of doing things..." He began, but he was cut off by a blast of Sidney's horn, as the diesel rolled by with a train of ballast trucks. Duck whistled back and continued puffing onwards.

* * *

Duck arrived at Knapford, where Percy was waiting, having his trucks loaded. He looked exhausted.

"Hello, Percy!" Duck called as his passengers disembarked. Percy smiled weakly back.

"Hey, Duck." He peeped.

"What's got you so tuckered out?" Duck asked.

"Summer timetables." Percy sighed, "I don't know how you do it, Duck. You have the busiest branch line in the summer, yet I never see you tired."

"Well, Percy." Duck chuckled, "I know to keep everything in the summer running to tip-top shape. You have to expect the unexpected. Be able to do anything at a moment's notice, Percy." Duck then looked up at the clock, "Well, would you look at the time! I have a train to pull from the harbour! See you around, Percy." Duck whistled and rolled away.

"Bye, Duck!" Percy called back. As Duck left Knapford, he suddenly felt as if something was loose.

"Ouch!" He cringed in pain, "I better go to the Steamworks tonight to check _that_ over."

* * *

That evening, Duck headed to the Steamworks.

"Hello, my friend!" Victor smiled, "What can I help you with this evening?"

"I need a checkup, Victor. Something around my buffers feels loose." Duck said.

"Ah, I see. If you would head over there, we will be with you in a moment." Victor looked to a siding towards the rear of the Steamworks, nearby a brown engine that Duck had never seen before. The engine appeared to be asleep.

"Alright then." Duck rolled over towards the sleeping engine. He looked to Victor and Kevin, who appeared to be rather busy.

"This is going to take a while..." He muttered. Seeing as he had nothing to do, he decided to talk to the engine.

"Hey! What's up?" Duck asked. The engine's eyes popped open. They were red, and he had sharp teeth.

"GAH!" Duck yelped.

"GAH!" The engine yelped in shock from Duck's.

"GAH!"

"GAH!"

"WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" The two engines then stopped and looked awkwardly at each other. Kevin sped over.

"What's happening? Is something wrong?" He asked, before losing balance and falling over from his speed. Victor winced and rolled over as well.

"Duck! Lucian! What's wrong?" He asked. Duck realized that he wasn't looking at some kind of monster, and turned red.

"Lucian just um, surprised me, Victor. Nothing's wrong."

"Alright, just don't scare me like that." Victor then rolled away. Duck let out a sigh of relief, and looked back to Lucian.

"Sorry about that. Just got a little startled. You're Lucian, right? I don't think we've ever formally met. I'm Duck."

"Hello, Duck. I've heard of your branch line. You _somehow_ manage to keep to time in these busy summer months." He sighed, "Mine gets busier every day. The business is lovely, but it would be nice to have a little rest. I'm afraid with all the steam I'm making, I might disturb the trees, or the animals in them!"

"My branch line gets just as busy as the rest of the island, but I'm pretty good at keeping to time. What's with the red eyes?"

"You would have red eyes too if you barely got any sleep." Lucian retorted dully. Duck felt sorry for Lucian. Then, however, he got an idea.

"Well, if you need a hand, I'm sure I could visit your line for a few weeks. The other engines have managed fine without me before, and it seems like you need to help more than they do."

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Lucian was surprised.

"Sure. A friend in need is a friend indeed, eh?" Duck smiled. Lucian broke out into a toothy grin back.

"Oh, thank you!" He cheered. The men stepped down from Lucian, having done a complete inspection.

"You're free to go, Lucian!" Kevin called, still fallen over a few yards away. Lucian whistled, and began to roll away.

"See you soon, Duck! Hopefully on my own turf. There aren't enough trees around here..." He rolled away, leaving Duck to have his bolts tightened. The Great Western engine chuckled. He liked Lucian.

* * *

The Fat Controller agreed, and soon enough Duck was on his way up to Killdane. He hadn't really been to this part of the island before, and was amazed by the lush nature.

"Wow. No wonder there's a scenic line up here." He marveled. Up ahead, he saw Lucian coupled up to some coaches at the platform. He still looked exhausted, and was about to doze off as his passengers climbed aboard. Duck whistled loudly and his eyes popped open again.

"Oh, hi Duck." Lucian yawned, "Run round the other side of the train; we're running back-to today. Giving you the route." Duck obliged and coupled up to the other end of the train. The guard's whistle blew and they started off into the woods of the scenic branch line.

* * *

Duck marveled at his surroundings as he puffed through the woods. Lucian had let him travel in front on the way down, and he was amazed by the tall trees, green grass, and animals all over the hills around them.

"Wow. This place is gorgeous, Lucian. You're real lucky." The passengers took all sorts of pictures out of the coaches behind them.

"Thanks." Lucian smiled, just as a bird landed on his lamp iron. However, as the peaceful train rumbled along, they were suddenly interrupted by a loud "BANG"! The train braked to a halt. The bird flew away, and the rest of the animals fled in fear. Lucian's eyes widened in horror.

"What was that?" Duck asked.

"Hunters." He spoke stoically. Both crews hopped down and began to search the surrounding area around them. Duck and Lucian sat in silence, but they found nothing. After assuring the passengers that everything was alright, the train continued on. Duck still observed the beautiful nature, but Lucian was clearly upset.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, Duck helped keep everything to time. The gunshot was the only one of its kind that day, but that evening, Duck and Lucian spoke about it.

"Why would there be hunters around here? Isn't this area protected?" Duck asked.

"Indeed. But some people decide that they're above the law." Lucian muttered darkly.

"But why? There's plenty of other places to hunt, and it certainly is not worth breaking the law."

"This area has some of the rarest endangered species on Sodor. It's for these animals to thrive and passengers to _observe_. It is not some prowling ground for a couple of men trying to get their kicks." Lucian's eyes narrowed, "Bunch of sickos. We usually don't deal with hunters that much during the year, but these guys decided to try and hunt for sport."

"Have they gotten anything yet?" Duck asked.

"Thankfully, no. They seem to be as bad at shooting as they are good at avoiding being caught. But if I ever get my buffers on them, I swear..." Lucian took a deep breath and calmed his boiling rage. Duck felt sorry for his new friend, and worried for the animals.

"Well, maybe you just haven't had the right help before. If we are both looking for them, I'm sure we can find them and help keep this place safe."

"How are we going to find them? They could be anywhere! They only show up a few hours in the day." Duck simply smirked at Lucian's doubts.

"There are only two ways of doing things, Lucian. The Great Western Way, and the wrong way. We'll find them. We've got the Great Western Way on our side!" And with that, Lucian and Duck went to sleep, determined to find the illegal hunters when they awoke.

* * *

The following morning, Duck and Lucian began their search, keeping their eyes open for any sign of hunters.

 _Rockin', rockin' on the railway. Rollin', rollin' on the railway._

Duck rolled down the line, looking up and down. He saw some rustling in the bushes and braked to a halt smugly. However, upon whistling, a frightened deer hopped out of the bushes, leaving him to sigh and continue on.

 _Movin', movin' down the line. Swingin', sway from side to side._

 _They'll be rockin' an' a-rollin' an' a-reelin' on the railway tonight_

Lucian came back up the line, moving very slowly. He looked around, but heard a growl and realized he was close to Wolves' Bend. Not wanting to endanger his passengers, Lucian sped up, sighing at his lack of success.

 _Rockin', rockin' on the railway, Rollin', rollin' on the railway_

 _Movin', movin' down the line, Swingin', sway from side to side_

Duck looked all over the line. Behind trees, nearby the river...anywhere the track could take him. He found no sign of the hunters and groaned in frustration.

 _They'll be rockin' an' a-rollin' won't you come for the ride of your life_

Lucian rolled along the line again, but nothing.

 _They'll be rockin' an' a-rollin' won't you come for the ride of your life_

Duck checked in the back of the sheds. Still nothing.

 _They'll be rockin' an' a-rollin' won't you come for the ride of your life_

Lucian looked behind some old trucks on a siding. Nothing. Frustrated, he began shunting the trucks towards the buffers again.

 _Come for the ride!_

They touched them with a dull bump.

* * *

"I can't believe we haven't found them yet! We've searched everywhere!" Duck sighed, after a long, hard morning of searching.

"Maybe they've stopped? The animals know what a gunshot means..." Lucian said hopefully. Duck frowned.

"Seems too easy. They're still around, we just need a way to lure them out..." He muttered. However, his driver walked over.

"Come on, Duck. We have our afternoon train to pull." Duck sighed and rolled over towards the platform. While the passengers boarded the train, a man in a trenchcoat crept onto the platform, bought a ticket and hopped on the train. The guard's whistle blew and Duck started off, still trying to think of a way to drive the hunters out.

* * *

Out in the woods, two men were sitting behind a rock. One was sitting in a folding chair, drinking a beer from a can, and the other was aiming a hunting rifle over the top of the rock.

"Vern, are you sure that's a good idea? There's a railway line right in your line of fire!" The one in the chair said, before taking a swig of his beer.

"Shut it, Hal. I'm catching that deer, and you're just jealous because you can't. There's no train due for another half hour. That's enough time to drive the little bugger out." Vern straightened his cap and returned to aiming the rifle. Hal rolled his eyes and took another sip of his beer. Suddenly, the two men heard a noise and looked to the other side.

"There! We've got it!" Vern grinned proudly. A deer was sitting on the other side of the line, eating some grass. Vern smirked and began to take aim.

"I've got you now..." He put his finger on the trigger. Meanwhile, Duck was coming down the line with his coaches trundling along behind him. Knowing he wouldn't find anything, he began to go faster than usual, rolling right in front of the deer. The deer was used to engines, and as a result it remained, chewing its grass. Vern pulled the trigger, not realizing until after he fired it that there was an engine in his line of fire!

"Oh bloody..." Vern couldn't finish. The bullet hit Duck's cylinder with a loud bang. Steam began to hiss violently out of the hole. Duck cried in pain.

"Help! Help! I've been hit!" Duck's driver shut off steam immediately, and the train came to a complete stop. As the passengers chattered (and one trenchcoated one hopped out of his coach and headed to where the sound came from), Duck's crew looked him over. His driver sighed.

"That's a hole alright, Duck. There's no way we are getting home after that."

"Stupid hunters! Why were they shooting at me? I'm not a deer!" Duck grumbled. However, the trenchcoated man walked up, holding two scruffy men by the rear of their jackets in each hand. He threw them to the ground, and held up a police badge.

"You're under arrest, scumbags." The detective said, before taking off his hat and pulling out handcuffs from his coat. He had brown-grey hair, and was tall, slim, and stone-faced. He turned to Duck's crew.

"Detective Miles Regan," he said as he shook hands with Duck's driver and fireman after cuffing the dizzy hunters, "We've been looking for these two for some time now. I hardly know how we would have found them without your engine. The Fat Controller will be pleased, I'm sure."

Duck smiled, although he still felt pain through the gaping hole in his cylinder.

* * *

Later, Lucian picked up Duck and the train and took them back to the station, where Vern and Hal were fined considerably for their illegal hunting. The men begrudgingly paid the money, and were taken back to the police station to figure out the details of their trial. Duck, on the other hand, was hauled to the Steamworks by Lucian.

"Ouch...oh...please take it easy, Lucian! I don't think my cylinder can handle high speeds." Duck groaned. Lucian smiled.

"I just want to say thanks for helping me get everything in order this summer. You've been a great help, and an even greater friend." He smiled. Duck chuckled.

"No trouble at all. Although, the bullet in the cylinder I could do without." He smiled.

"I don't know how those hunters could have been caught without you. You've helped preserve one of the most beautiful places on Sodor, and I owe you a lot for that. Is there anything I could do to repay you?" Duck thought for a moment, and then smirked.

"Next time, _tell_ me when it's duck season, so I'll _know_ I'll be shot at!"

 **THE END**

* * *

Nice to write for Lucian again. His character's a fun one, and I think this is the first time we've seen his little branch line is broad daylight, which is good. I wanted to write a Duck episode since I started writing these, and I think I got his character done pretty okay. He's confident, but not too much so. I think his friendship with Lucian is an interesting partnership, as they both have branch lines that get most of their business in the summer. As for Detective Miles Regan, he will appear in _Revenge of the Rail Bandits_ as well, although this is just to set him up. Hard to believe we have eight stories left before the season is over! Leave a review to tell me what you thought! What's next:

\- _Merrick and the Meteorite_

\- _The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon and Bear_


	19. Merrick and the Meteorite

**MERRICK AND THE METEORITE**

It was the end of another long day at the Blue Mountain Quarry. Everything was winding down, and Luke came up to Merrick with the last load of the day. However, to his surprise, the normally sleepy crane was still wide awake.

"You're up late today!" Luke laughed, "What's up?"

"I'm staying up to watch the meteor shower tonight! There hasn't been one that's been visible from here in years...I _have_ to stay up!" Merrick smiled, looking up at the sky. Luke was puzzled.

"I don't think you should watch the meteor in the shower...it doesn't seem like it'll like that..." He said. Merrick laughed.

"No, Luke! A meteor shower is when things like rocks or metal fall from space, and they end up falling so fast that they light on fire! It's amazing to watch! It's like a whole cluster of shooting stars." He looked to the sky and sighed.

"But what if something doesn't burn up? What if it hits the ground?" Luke replied worriedly.

"Well then, that's called a meteorite. It's usually not harmful, but it would be great to find one!" Merrick grinned. Owen looked at his friend from across the quarry.

"Just be mindful, Merrick! You know you have a bit of a tendency to doze off!" He called. Merrick rolled his eyes.

"I can stay up as late as I want! I don't _have_ to sleep all the time." He grumbled. Luke whistled and puffed away as the sun set over the hill. Merrick excitedly began to look up at the sky.

* * *

When the sun was down and the sky was dark, Merrick began to stare at the sky.

"Here..." He yawned, "...it comes!" Soon enough, streaks of light soared across the sky. Merrick watched in awe.

"Wow!" He muttered to himself, amazed. After a couple minutes, the meteors subsided. Merrick yawned and smiled to himself as he fell asleep.

* * *

BANG!

"Wuzzat!?" Merrick's eyes popped open. It was still quiet and dark.

"Owen?" He asked. The incline engine was fast asleep.

"Must be some late night blasting..." He thought, and drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

In the upper terrace of the quarry, in a neglected corner of the line, a lot of the rails had disappeared on an old siding. In their place was a small, but smoldering crater, with an unfamiliar rock sitting inside...

* * *

Meanwhile, Paxton was heading up towards the quarry with a train of empty trucks. He was excited to start another day of picking up stone. However, at the junction, his signal was red.

"That's funny...usually I can just head right through..." Paxton thought. To his surprise, on the other line was Daisy, the Diesel Railcar.

"Hey, Daisy! What brings you onto the quarry branch line?" Paxton asked. Daisy scoffed.

"The Fat Controller made me take these scientists down along your line. Allegedly, a _meteorite_ landed in the quarry, so we have to go up there and search for it. I'd really rather be pulling proper passengers than going on a run for some space rock..." She honked her horn and rolled down the quarry branch line. Paxton chuckled.

"Good luck!" He called. His signal dropped and he rolled onwards, "Though it would be quite amazing if there really _was_ a meteorite..."

* * *

Merrick had started up his normal day of work. He still wasn't sure about the noise that woke him up that morning, but he didn't have time to think about it, as he was very busy. The quarry was bustling with activity, and Skarloey shunted some trucks onto Owen's platform.

"Going down!" Owen called, and lowered his trucks to the bottom.

"Hey, Owen?" Merrick called, "Are they blasting today? I don't recall being told about that. They usually tell us when that's happening."

"I don't think so. Why do you ask? Peter Sam lighting things on fire again?" Owen chuckled.

"I heard that!" The aforementioned engine rolled by Merrick on the Blondin Bridge. The gantry crane was concerned.

"I heard a loud noise that woke me up in the middle of the night last night. I thought it might have been some late-night blasting."

"There's not enough engines or people around that time of night for them to do that without it being dangerous, Merrick." Peter Sam pointed out as he shunted some trucks onto Owen's platform.

"I know. So what did I hear then?" Merrick continued pondering about the noise he had heard, but the rest of the quarry was startled when a loud horn sounded out. Daisy waltzed into the quarry and braked to a halt.

"Hey, boys! I'm _here_!" Daisy announced. The entire quarry was hit with an awkward silence. Paxton honked his horn and rolled in, heard the awkward silence, and reversed away as quietly and discretely as he could.

"What, um, can we help you with, miss?" Owen asked finally. Daisy rolled her eyes.

"It's not me who you could help..." She muttered. A group of scientists climbed down from her, all in white lab coats. One spoke up.

"We are professors from the astronomy program at Harwick University," she gestured to her colleagues, "According to our studies of last night's meteor shower, there may have been some debris that fell into this quarry. We'd like to collect it and take it back to our lab to analyze it, if we can find it. Your Mr. Percival and Sir Hatt say that it is alright if we have a look around for a few hours, as finding a meteorite would be great to help us make new advances in the field." The engines were all very impressed with the scientists, but Owen spoke up first.

"I don't think we've seen anything, but you're welcome to take a look around the upper terrace. Merrick said he heard a loud noise there last night." He said, looking to the upper terrace. Merrick was excited.

"That must have been the meteorite hitting the ground! That's exciting!" He chuckled to himself.

"Splendid. Come on, gentlemen." The scientists marched up towards the mountain. However, they realized their mistake and came awkwardly to a stop.

"What's, erm, the fastest way to get up there?" The lead scientist asked, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. Merrick was about to say something, but Owen cut him off.

"You could take my platform up if you'd like. It _is_ the quickest way." He suggested.

"Alright. If you say so." One by one, the scientists climbed up the ladder leading onto Owen's bottom level, and hopped on one of his platforms.

"Owen, I'm not sure this is a good idea." Merrick put in.

"The sooner they're in the upper terrace, the sooner we can return to work." Owen retorted. Slowly and carefully, he raised his platform, with the scientists holding on on board. Merrick was fraught with worry as Owen managed to reach the top. The scientists stepped off the platform.

"Thank you! We will try to be as non-disruptive as possible. Carry on!" They ran into the upper terrace to begin their search. As the quarry got back to work, Merrick noticed Owen cringing in pain.

"You alright, Owen?" He asked, concerned. His friend groaned.

"Something's wrong. I feel like I've got a cramp. But it's nothing. I assure you. Back to work now, Merrick. Ouch!" Merrick looked worriedly at the incline engine writhing in pain, before returning to his own work.

* * *

Half an hour later, there was a big problem.

"YOW!" Owen cried in pain. Steam hissed from his tower, and workmen came sprinting over to see what was wrong.

"Owen! Are you alright?" Merrick asked in alarm.

"Suck it up, big guy!" Daisy called up to him, bored. Paxton gave her a judging look and returned to watched Owen's drama unfold.

"I think I burst a pipe..." Owen groaned. A workman affirmed this, looking at the hissing steam and trying to find something to seal it while the others shut Owen off.

"I'll be alright, just out of commission for a bit..." Owen said. Merrick looked on worriedly.

"I told you taking those people on your platform was a bad idea!" He sighed, but there was nothing he could do. Owen needed repairs, and work in the quarry had to be done without him.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the upper terrace...

"By George! Look at this!" The lead scientist stumbled across an old siding, and at the end of it was a crater. She clapped her hands excitedly.

"Eureka!" She called the other scientists over and they headed inside. Sure enough, it was what they had been looking for; a meteorite.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" The lead scientist cheered, and the others began to celebrate. However, their celebrating was cut short when they realized something.

"Now we have to get it down..." They ran back towards the lower terrace to get help.

* * *

The engines were trying their best to get on without Owen when the scientists ran down.

"We've found it! The meteorite was in the upper terrace!" The lead scientist announced.

" _Finally!_ " Daisy shouted from below.

"We need help getting it down though...If any engines are willing to help us recover the meteorite, your help would be very appreciated!" Skarloey puffed forwards, and began to roll up towards the upper terrace. Merrick, however was concerned.

"Whatever was big enough to make the sound I heard is too big for our tunnels!" He said, but Skarloey and the scientists had already left.

* * *

In the upper terrace, some cranes had been rigged up to the meteorite, and were lifting into the air onto a flatbed, pushed by Skarloey. The lead scientist observed carefully and the meteorite was lifted into the air.

"Precision, people! Precision!" Finally, the meteorite was placed gently on the flatbed, and two of the scientists tied two ropes around it to the flatbed. The lead scientist walked alongside Skarloey.

"Nice and slow...nice and slow..." Skarloey slowly began heading down the mountain, while the scientists crowded around the truck containing the large meteorite.

* * *

Merrick watched, frozen with worry, as Skarloey's slow descent came into view.

"I was right...it's too tall..." He said, as the scientists realized this too. Skarloey braked to a stop. They awkwardly milled about for a bit before the lead scientist got an idea.

"We can use Owen! His platform could easily carry the trucks down!" She grinned.

"Owen's under repairs because of you!" Merrick butted in. He had had enough.

"Oh no! Now we've no way to carry it down! The iron could oxidate and then we won't have our sample!" The lead scientist cried. Merrick grinned.

"You have a way down; me! Let me carry it down! I've been learning about meteors and outer space for years! Ever since I started working in this quarry! I can handle it!" Owen was surprised at Merrick's iniative, but the lead scientist smiled.

"Alright. Just be careful..." She said, and Skarloey rolled towards Merrick. Carefully, Merrick attached his hook to the ropes around the meteorite, and after the scientists and workmen fiddled with it for a bit, he began lifting it up into the air.

"Alright. Here goes..." It was heavier than he was used to, but slowly, Merrick began to carefully lower the meteorite down below the bridge to the narrow gauge line running below it. Skarloey was already down there with his truck, and reversed into place to accept it. The workmen and scientists worked together, once the meteorite was in range, to guide the meteorite into place. It landed on Skarloey's flatbed with not so much as a sound. The ropes were retied, and Skarloey rolled over to Daisy, who had been watching the whole operation with awe.

"I did it!" Merrick cheered, as a crane lifted the meteorite onto Daisy's truck. The diesel hooted impatiently.

"Please make this quick! Pulling is bad for my swerves and the sooner I am done with it the better!" As the scientists climbed back aboard Daisy, the lead one cried out.

"Thank you everyone! And thank you, Merrick! We couldn't have gotten down the mountain without you!" Merrick grinned with pride. As Daisy pulled away, Owen grinned at his friend.

"Congratulations, Merrick. You helped out well. Sorry I didn't listen to you..." He said. Merrick smiled back.

* * *

Owen was soon repaired, and a few weeks later the quarry was up and running once more. At the end of another day, everyone was surprised to see Daisy enter the quarry again.

"What's up, Daisy?" Merrick asked. Out stepped the lead scientist. Daisy smirked and looked to her. She called out.

"Merrick! I wanted to say thanks for your contribution in getting the meteorite down to our lab. It's really helped us in our research. We decided to give you a framed photo of the meteorite you helped us get. Once again, thank you so much!" The lead scientist handed the photo to Merrick's operator, and climbed back aboard Daisy before they left. The operator looked at the photo, and laughed.

"Well, Merrick. Looks like you didn't only help _get_ a meteorite...you _are_ one too!" Under the photo of the large meteorite was a caption on the frame: _Merrick meteorite._ As the whole quarry burst into laughter, Merrick smiled. He would have laughed with them, but the sun was down. He was already falling asleep. Owen saw his friend dozing off and rolled his eyes before smiling.

 **THE END**

* * *

This episode, like _Back Engine,_ went through a lot of changes. For starters, Daisy's role wasn't added until very late, and I think it made the episode a little more entertaining. I haven't done enough with her, and realizing her only other role this season would be _Toby's Travels_ (and trust me her role in that is brilliant), I decided to add this for her. Merrick and Owen are two characters who I often see get neglected because of how vanilla they are in the show. I think I've established them in a pretty OK manner here. Owen's the hardworking one who is very focused on his work and tries to be the leader of everything, while Merrick has his head in the clouds (and in dream land) but is helpful when he needs to be. I got a reference to _Bugged_ in there as well. Overall, this episode turned out alright. Leave a review to tell me what you thought, and what you are looking forward to! Speaking of that:

\- _The Full Monty_

SUDRIAN SURPRISES:

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon & Bear_


	20. The Full Monty

**THE FULL MONTY**

Industry was booming on the Island of Sodor, and as a result, more and more land was needed for company to build new factories. It had been raining hard for weeks, and it was making work difficult. The Pack were hard at work, knocking down old abandoned factories to make room for new ones. Oliver the Excavator was hard at work, using his wrecking ball to knock down the old buildings.

"Stand clear, everyone!" He called, before swinging back and preparing to hit the building again. He was just about to let go of the ball and let it swing into the building when a cloud of mud landed on his face. He spat in disgust, as two cackling dump trucks sped along behind him. After he had gotten the mud out of his mouth, Oliver opened his eyes before scowling.

"Max and Monty! You two get over here this _instant_!" He shouted. The dump truck twins spun their tires around, turned around, and sped back. Monty braked to a stop, spraying mud all over Oliver. The excavator groaned in disgust. Max, who had stopped on the other side, laughed.

"What is it, Ollie?" Monty sneered, smirking. Oliver frowned.

"A busy construction site is not a place to race around, you two. Mind your speed! I could have hit one of you with my ball! Besides, don't you two have work to do?"

" _We_ happen to be on break, Ollie. Besides, taking away bricks and dirt is _boring_." Max snickered.

"It may be boring for you, but it's your job." Oliver responded simply, "If you are going to take your break, please do it safely." Max and Monty looked at each other, before rolling their eyes and grinning.

"Just keep on gathering dust, old man. Let us have our fun!" Monty shouted, spinning his tires as he turned around, causing mud to fly into Oliver's face again as the brutish dump trucks sped away. Oliver rolled his eyes in frustration, before swinging his wrecking ball into the building. It crashed down with a mighty "BOOM", and Oliver rolled away, eager to find shelter from the pouring rain.

* * *

After managing to wade his way through the mud, Oliver found his way to the shed. Jack, Alfie, and George were sitting inside. Jack and Alfie were excitedly talking, while George looked like he wanted to throw himself off a bridge.

"Hi, Oliver!" Jack said cheerfully, "What's up?"

"Max and Monty and mud are not a good combination." Oliver sighed exasperatedly.

"Any mud's not good." George grumbled, "I'd much rather be out on an open road instead of working here."

"Would you, George?" Jack teased, "At least here, you can grip the ground. Out on the road, you'd probably slide along like an ice rink with all the falling leaves and rain." George snorted.

"Jack's right, George." Oliver put in, "It's much safer here than out on the roads."

"Even with Max and Monty around?" George raised an eyebrow.

"Max and Monty aren't bad if you know how to work with them." Alfie said confidently.

"Are they?" George began to laugh as two shapes slinked into the shed nearby them.

"Yeah. They might be reckless, but they're just big, stupid, thrillseekers." Alfie continued. Jack and Oliver looked nervously at him as George continued laughing.

"You saying something, squirt?"

"Ah!" Alfie looked to his right and saw Max and Monty grinning at him.

"H-hey fellas. What c-can I help you with?" He chuckled nervously. Monty revved his engine, and Alfie sped away screaming. George broke out into a cackle.

"Good one fellas!" He grinned. Max and Monty raised an eyebrow each and looked to each other before grinning. Max began spinning his tires, spraying mud all over George. The steamroller coughed, as the dump trucks sped away. Jack giggled, but Oliver remained stone-faced as thunder crashed.

* * *

Alfie's job in the operation was to clear up the debris from the demolished buildings for Max and Monty to take away. This was so George could flatten the area to make it safe to build on again, and Jack could dig a new foundation. It was a well-practiced system, and the vehicles were used to it. However, Max and Monty were bored.

"It's the same thing every day!" Max said, as Alfie loaded him up with debris.

"Yeah! Who does Ollie think he is, not letting us have our fun?" Monty grumbled, "We're just trying to get through the mono-erm, monot-uhm..."

"Monotony?" Alfie suggested.

"Quiet, pipsqueak!" Max snapped.

"Yes, sir." Alfie said, and quietly returned to filling Max up. Monty snickered before continuing.

"Like I said, the old man is keeping us from having our fun." He said, "You know what they say; all work and no play makes Ollie a dull excavator!" The two laughed. Then, Monty got an idea.

"Hey, I know! Why don't we make a little game out of this right here? That's sure to grind old Ollie's gears!" He smirked. Max laughed, causing Alfie to begin to load him faster.

"Yeah! The one with the most debris moved by the end of the day gets a cleaning tonight." The two grinned competitively at each other. Alfie spoke up meekly.

"Oliver said that a construction site is a dangerous place to play around..." He said, but got greeted with a spray of mud from Max's tires.

"Shut it and load _faster_!" He shouted. Alfie quickly began loading him faster.

"Do you really think you can beat me? I'm faster and stronger than you, anyday!" Monty grinned.

"Bring it on!" Max grinned, however, he heard Alfie put down another load of dirt.

"Hey, small fry! Are you _trying_ to overload me?" He snapped.

"Oh, um, sorry." Alfie said quickly, and began shoveling out some of the debris from Max. However, this had given Monty an idea.

 _"If I wait until the end of the day, I can take all the day's debris that Max hasn't taken, which is bound to be more than half, and take it all at once!"_ He thought. He smirked wickedly, and looked back to Max. His twin was ready to go with a full load of debris. He chuckled at his own cleverness and looked to Max.

"Alright Max. Ready, set, go!" He said, causing his twin to speed away, spraying mud into Alfie's face. Max sped out towards the road, passing another factory that George was evening the land for.

"Hey, Max! What's the hurry f-" George said awkwardly, before being sprayed by mud. He grumbled and returned to his work and Max rolled out to the road. Alfie looked back, and was surprised to see Monty rolling into the sheds for a rest.

"Don't you need to be loaded up, Monty?" He asked. Monty scoffed.

"Just stifle Max on the loads and don't question me, twerp." He snapped, before chuckling to himself. "Monty, you clever old boy..."

"If you say so..." Alfie said quietly.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the rainy day, Max sped back and forth along the road, making his disposals of waste. Alfie, on Monty's orders, didn't load Max to his full potential. Max, however, didn't notice this and continued racing along to his full capacity. The road up to the dump was an exit from a road nearby a hill. Max was being rather reckless, and wasn't really obeying traffic laws. Up the road, Bertie the Bus was coming around the bend when he saw Max coming towards him...on the wrong side of the lane! Bertie honked.

"Out of the way!" He called, and Max swerved hard. Some debris flew out of his dumper and onto the road as he managed to get out of the way. Bertie swerved out of the way of the debris onto the main road.

"Road hog!" He shouted, but Max was already too far away to hear. Neither of them chose to acknowledge the debris on the road.

* * *

The sun was setting and it was raining harder than ever when Monty finally rolled over to Alfie.

"Load me up, dweeb." He grinned. Alfie reluctantly began piling dirt on the dump truck. The debris climbed higher and higher, but somehow Alfie was able to load Monty, with a significant pile of debris popping out of his dumper. Unbeknownst to Monty, the heavy load had put too much pressure on the tipping mechanism for his dumper and it snapped. Monty revved his engine and began to leave, slowly but surely. As Monty rolled out onto the main road, Oliver sped over to Alfie.

"What's he doing? Alfie, why did you give him all that debris?" He demanded. Alfie turned red.

"Monty t-told me to give him all the remaining debris, so I did." He said. Oliver sighed.

"There isn't much we can do about it now. We'll just have to let Monty learn for himself..." He said, and returned to his work, leaving Alfie to stare nervously at the road.

* * *

Monty rolled along the road, his tall load swerving from side to side. The rain was harder now, and it was beating at him and his load like insects on a sunbather. Finally, he approached the intersection. However, to his horror, a lorry was on its side on the normal road. It had hit Max's debris and was currently blocking the way. Monty gulped nervously and looked to the hill. Slowly, but surely, he began to climb the hill, his wheels spinning on the wet, slippery road.

"Come on!" He groaned, and struggled hard. However, the higher he got, the heavier his load seemed to get. Eventually, his tires began to slip, and he began to slowly slide down the hill.

"Help!" He cried, trying to his best to resist the inevitable. At the bottom of the hill, Max was rolling along the road, on his way home, when he heard the revving of an engine and came to a stop.

"Hello?" He asked. No one replied. Monty was too busy struggling to notice Max. His tires lost their grip and he began to go even faster. The rain was too thick to allow full visibility and as such Max couldn't get out of the way in time. To Max's shock, Monty came sliding into view with a full load of debris, and rammed into his front.

"Whoa!" Max cried. However, Monty had been going so fast that his entire load toppled onto Max, covering the other dump truck in construction waste. However, the load was so heavy that it began to take Monty with it.

"Help!" He cried. Atop the pile was a flipped-over Monty, his damaged dumper blocking Max's front. The two were blocking the road, and in terrible shape. Luckily, a lorry driver saw the, and drove back to the construction site for help.

* * *

Help didn't arrive until the weather calmed down. Oliver and Butch arrived at the scene the following morning. Oliver began getting to work digging Max out, while Butch dragged Monty off the top of his pile of dirt. To both dump trucks' shock and fear, with them was Miss Jenny Packard. She had her arms folded and was very cross.

"What do I have to do to knock some _common sense_ into you two?" She sighed. Monty and Max both looked very guilty.

"We're sorry, boss." Monty said quickly.

"Yeah, we're sorry." Max added. Miss Jenny massaged her temples in aggravation.

"Sorry is really hard to just _accept_ this time, boys. This is definitely your worst offense yet. Max, I received a complaint each from both the transport minister and the owner of the bus company about your reckless driving!" Max turned red and Monty snickered, as Butch attempted to slowly flip him over. Miss Jenny turned sharply to him.

"As for _you,_ Monty. You're worse! You damaged your dumping mechanism, you've made us have to stay behind and fix all the mess you created while you are repaired, and worst of all, you put many innocent drivers in danger. Imagine what it would have been like if it wasn't Max behind you?" Monty turned red with shame. Miss Jenny sighed.

"I heard about your little contest, you two. You two need to understand that construction sites are not places to play around in! Work and play are well and good, but they need to stay separated, otherwise someone could get hurt. Understood?" Max and Monty gave her pained looks of understanding.

"Yes, boss." They said. Miss Jenny raised an eyebrow and put her hardhat back on.

"When you two are repaired, you are working with Oliver until I trust you again, so he can keep an eye on you. And I want no funny business, got it?" She gave the twins the stink-eye. Max and Monty looked away uncomfortably. Miss Jenny climbed into her land rover and drove away, leaving Butch to pull Monty, and Oliver to pull an unearthed Max, back to the yard for repairs.

* * *

When Max and Monty returned, they were both rather quiet. Off the job, they were still their normal selves, but they were much more focused when on duty. Oliver kept an eye on them, and they began to become much wiser dump trucks. Alfie loaded them up one day, and began to make conversation.

"Hey Monty, just tell me when you think you're full!" He said.

"Now's fine..." Monty muttered.

"Calm down. You're practically empty!" Alfie chuckled.

"Sorry. Just a little bit of a sensitivity to being full." Monty said quietly. He was soon enough loaded, and limped out of the yard, cringing in pain the whole way. As soon as he was out of sight, Jack and Alfie shared a glance and began to giggle. Soon enough Oliver and George joined in, and everyone was laughing at the thought the contest had left Monty a little fuller than he wanted to be!

 **THE END**

* * *

I think this is the first episode in the entirety of Thomas and Friends to not feature a single appearance of an engine or the railway. All non-rail characters. This was a fun one. I tried writing Max and Monty as those jerky jocks in school to distinguish them from 'Arry and Bert, and I think it paid off well. To add to this dynamic, I made George work with the Pack to add to this dynamic; he wants to hang out with them, but they think he's too old. George is not owned by the Pack now, but will certainly be used over Buster, as I currently have no plans to bring Buster back. George is just so much more of an interesting character.

Wow. It's hard to believe that we've gotten this far. 20 episodes, and only this season's DVD release left. It will take a little longer than usual, as I am trying to release all six within the same week, but I think it will be will worth it. But, in the meantime, I would like to hear what have been you guys' favorite episode thus far!

Leave a review of your top 10 list, or just your favorite episodes. Also tell me what you thought of this episode! Also as part of the review, tell me if you would be interested in seeing character profiles for _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ in the meantime until _Sudrian Surprises_ is released. I'm sure you guys would love to meet Slim Jim Langley, Jeb, Bonnie, and Roy while you wait for the upcoming episodes. Speaking of those:

SUDRIAN SURPRISES (get ready):

\- _Top of the Class_

 _\- Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_

 _\- The Missing Ballast Trucks_

 _\- Toby's Travels_

 _\- A China Clay Christmas_

 _\- Gordon & Bear_


	21. SS1 - Top of the Class

**TOP OF THE CLASS**

A big green diesel was waiting impatiently at the Vicarstown Bridge. He grumbled furiously.

"Stupid late steamer...the other engines are going to tear me a new radiator when they find out about this..." He groaned. The bridge lowered, and the diesel slowly rolled across.

"Finally..." He muttered. However, he heard a whistle and groaned.

"Not her!" Suddenly, Caitlin sped past. She grinned at him.

"Evening, 'Bowler'!" She called. The diesel scowled.

"It's Class 40." He grumbled. Caitlin simply laughed at him. Class 40 sighed.

"Where did I go wrong?" He thought, remembering that faithful day several years ago.

* * *

Long ago, Class 40 had come to Sodor to help fill out an engine shortage. He told the steam engines how outdated they were, and as a result of this they didn't like him very much. Then, one day, he was due to pull the express. He was being checked over when he unintentionally sucked an inspector's bowler hat into his air intake. He broke down, and was shunted into the sheds by two little tank engines named Duck and Stepney. While they got all the glory for pulling the express, Class 40 was sent home in disgrace. Although he tried to keep it under wraps, the story spread like wildfire, and soon enough every engine on the mainland knew about "Bowler"'s misadventure. They even started calling him that! Class 40 was humiliated, and feared returning to Sodor ever since. Whenever he did, he was very quick about it and was determined to be as discrete as possible.

* * *

Class 40 dropped off his trucks for the ship to load up, and returned hime to his shed. To his annoyance, in the row next to him was Connor, one of the streamlined steamers.

"Fabulous. Just what I need." He grumbled sarcastically. He rolled into the shed, where Connor grinned at him.

"Hey, 'Bowler'!" He chuckled. Class 40 scowled.

"What do you want, steamer?" He snapped.

"Just wanted to say how much I'm looking forward to working together." Connor said innocently. Class 40 raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He said. Connor grinned.

"Wait and see!" He chuckled, and let off steam before going to sleep. Class 40 coughed in disgust.

"Cheeky streamliner..." He muttered.

* * *

The following morning, Class 40 was being primed for work when a tacky yellow car pulled up to his sheds.

"What is _that_?" He muttered. Out stepped an unfamiliar man with long grey hair and a beard. He walked over to the yard manager, and then to Class 40.

"Hello, D261!" The man said, "Or should I call you 'Bowler'? Connor and Caitlin said that's what you prefer." Class 40's eye twitched.

"'Class 40' suits me fine, sir." He said through gritted teeth.

"Alright then, Class 40. My name is Sir Robert Norramby, and I am the Earl of Sodor. I own your friends, Connor and Caitlin, and I run all sorts of tourist ventures all over the Island of Sodor." Class 40 raised an eyebrow.

"With all due respect, what does this have to do with me, sir?" Class 40 said. Sir Robert grinned.

"I have purchased you for the purpose of running goods from the mainland to my sites. Connor and Caitlin are far too busy to take them, and the North Western is too busy as well. You've been to Sodor before, so I'm sure that you'll fit right in!" He said. Class 40's eye twitched again.

"Sure. I would be glad to, sir." He said in a manner that suggested he was lying. The Earl, however, didn't notice.

"Splendid! Your first job is to take a train of crates from Brendam Docks up to Ulfstead Castle. I have purchased several new items to add to my medieval collection, and they are sure to attract lots of tourists!" Sir Robert got back into his car, and drove away with excitement. As soon as he was out of sight, Class 40's eye twitched once more. He took a deep breath, and...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Birds who had perched on nearby trees flew away in fright!

* * *

At Brendam Docks, the engines were all very busy. Salty was being repaired, so Duck was sent to help Porter keep everything tidy.

"Keep it up, Duck! These trucks need to go to the other side of the yard!" Porter called.

"Certainly, Porter!" Duck began shunting the trucks into a siding, when he saw a long green shape slink into the docks.

"Hey, wait a minute. Is that who I think it is?" Duck was uncoupled from his trucks and snuck alongside the familiar diesel.

"'Bowler'? Is that you?" He said. The diesel looked startled.

"Erm, no. No 'Bowler' here!" He said quickly, before trying to get away. However, this was a bust as he hit some trucks on the line in front of him and stopped. This gave Duck time to read his number.

"D-2-6-1...It _is_ you!" He grinned, "I haven't seen you in ages!" Class 40 sighed; he had been found out.

"Yes, it's me. Yay." He said dully. Suddenly, he heard a whistle and groaned as Porter rolled alongside.

"Who's this, Duck?" The dockside engine asked.

"This diesel visited Sodor once," Duck explained, "And got sent away in disgrace after he sucked a bowler hat into his air intake! Stepney and I had to pull the express for him after that!" He began to laugh, as Porter and Cranky joined him. Class 40 scowled.

"My name is _Class 40_ , and I am not being sent away this time. The Earl of Sodor has purchased me, so I'm here to stay. And I'm just _peachy_ about it." He said flatly. Duck chuckled as Class 40 backed down onto his trucks.

"Well, be sure not to suck any bowler hats up this time, Class 40!" He said. Class 40 rolled his eyes and began pulling away with the trucks. He wanted this job to be over as soon as possible so he could avoid the other engines.

* * *

Unfortunately, news spreads quickly on the North Western Railway.

"Hey, it's 'Bowler'!" A child pointed at Class 40 from a footbridge as he rolled through Wellsworth station. Molly saw Class 40 and chuckled, leaving the disgraced diesel to scowl.

"Ugh." He groaned. But no matter where he went, there always seemed to be somebody laughing at him.

"Look, Annie and Clarabel!" Thomas pointed out as Class 40 rolled through Knapford, "It's that diesel who likes eating hats!" The two coaches chortled, leaving Class 40 to growl.

Despite this, his journey went relatively well, and he reached Ulfstead Castle on time. The Earl was standing on the platform, and clapped his hands happily.

"Class 40! Splendid to see you!" He said, before looking to his load.

"Was an absolute _breeze_ getting here..." Class 40 muttered. Nearby, Stephen was sitting on a siding, and decided to talk to the newcomer.

"Hey, youngster!" Stephen smiled, as he puffed over. Class 40 scoffed.

"Whatever you have to say, I don't need to hear it. Especially if has anything to with hats." He said. Stephen was confused. He hadn't heard about Class 40's first visit to Sodor.

"What's bad about hats?" He asked. Class 40 grumbled as he was uncoupled from the train.

"Save it." He muttered. He began to roll away to have a rest at the Dieselworks, but the Earl flagged him down.

"Wait a minute, Class 40!" He said, "I need to take these rubbish trucks to the dump. It's waste from this past weekend's banquet." Class 40, grumbling, backed down onto the heavy trucks.

"Yes, sir." After they were coupled up, he rolled away towards the dump.

* * *

Out on the main line, Hiro was rolling along with a long, heavy goods train. Thick steam erupted from his funnel, and his wheels battered the rails. The trucks were heavier than usual, and they were weighing him back.

"Come on!" He panted. He whistled loud and long and pulled hard; too hard! With one final wheel turn, steam began hissing from his undercarriage and he slowly rolled to a stop.

"My cylinder!" He cried. The train rolled to a halt, right in the middle of the main line!

* * *

Class 40 rumbled along with his trucks of rubbish behind him. He hated the smell, but the line was clear and there were no laughing engines in sight.

"Finally. Some peace and q-whoa!" He saw a red flag on the line and braked to a halt. Up ahead, he saw a brakevan on the line in front of him. He looked up and saw a weak column of steam coming from the front of the train. He honked impatiently.

"Come on, steamer! I haven't got all day!" He snapped.

"Apologies. But something's happened with my cylinder; I can't move!" Hiro said from the front of the train. Class 40 considered his options. He had no desire to help a filthy steamer, and his own trucks were heavy enough. But at the same time, he would have to reverse back to the junction to get past, and that was several miles back and he would have to wait for a road, making him late. He sighed.

"All right, steamer. I'll give you a buffer to the next station. Just keep your brakes off." Class 40 began to push against Hiro's heavy train. The Japanese engine smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

Class 40 struggled hard against the heavy train. Despite his reddening face, his eyes kept darting from side to side.

"You looking for something?" One of Hiro's trucks snapped.

"Bowler hats..." Class 40 muttered, but the truck didn't hear. Hiro was trying his best to keep the brakes off, but Class 40 was taking a large amount of the weight of the train. As he struggled along, Diesel rolled past. He saw the large diesel managing to move the heavy train, and honked his horn. He was impressed.

"Go on then!" He called, "Show that steamie who's boss!" Class 40 heard this and rumbled onwards.

"Who was that? Have I met them before?" He asked no one in particular. Hiro looked in excitement; Maron station was in sight!

"We're nearly there!" He called back, "Keep puff-erm, _oiling_!" Class 40 pushed Hiro into the station and braked into a halt.

"Thank you! I don't think I know your name. What is it?" Hiro smiled with gratitude.

"Just call me Class 40, steamer." The diesel responded dully.

"Well, Class 40, moving two trains and a dead engine is no joke. I appreciate your help." Class 40 moved Hiro's train to another platform, and uncoupled from him.

"Just doing my job, steamer." Class 40 muttered. He rolled back towards his trucks and left, leaving a smiling Hiro behind.

* * *

Class 40 dropped off his rubbish trucks and returned to the castle. Much to his annoyance, Caitlin and Connor were there, waiting to take their evening passenger trains home.

"Evening, 'Bowler'! You spending the night?" Connor grinned. Class 40 scowled. However, Diesel's words echoed through his mind.

 _"Show that steamie who's boss!"_ Class 40 grinned. He knew where he wanted to save the night.

"No. I'm spending the night at the Dieselworks. Just making you steamers are still of out of date, filthy, and slow before I go!" Class 40 honked his horn and reversed away. Stephen rolled forwards to try and talk to him, but the diesel had already reversed down the hill.

* * *

Class 40 rumbled along light-engine towards the Dieselworks. He heard the sound of loud talking as he rolled down the line towards the yards.

"What's that?" He muttered. He rumbled through the dimly lit yards and approached the the shed. There was one clear line, which he used to roll into the sheds. To his surprise, the diesels erupted into cheering as Class 40 pulled in. The big diesel looked around. Around him were 'Arry, Bert, Diesel, Den, Dart, Paxton, Norman, and Sidney, hanging out all over the Dieselworks. Before Class 40 had any time to react, Den buffered up behind him and pushed him onto the turntable.

"What's going on?" Class 40 spluttered as he was lifted into the air. The diesels cheered for him.

"Go Class 40!" Diesel cheered.

"Showing those steamies who's boss!" 'Arry grinned.

"What do you all want with me?" Class 40 demanded.

"Well, um, what I mean is..." Den said.

"What he means is, you did a jolly good job today!" Dart grinned. The diesels broke out into cheering again. Class 40 smirked. Suddenly, a sinister figure coasted onto the line behind Class 40.

"Gentlemen!" The figure cleared his throat. The diesels continued cheering. The figure scowled and banged his claw against the wall.

"GENTLEMEN!" The diesels fell silent. Class 40 was turned around on the table. Looking him in the face was Diesel 10. Class 40 fell silent, but the clawed diesel grinned.

"No need to feel threatened, my friend. Come, take a place up here." Class 40 reluctantly rolled next to Diesel 10. He was smaller than Class 40, but that claw was not anything the green diesel wished to encounter in the near future. To his surprise, however, Diesel 10 used his claw to grab a barrel of fuel, and hoisted it up into the air.

"I'd like to propose a toast to our guest of honor! Everybody raise your glasses!" Diesel 10 announced. The diesels looked confused.

"But we don't have hands, Diesel 10!" Paxton pointed out. Diesel 10 glared at the little diesel and tightened his grip on the fuel drum, causing it to begin to leak onto his claw. Paxton whimpered and fell silent. A nearby Norman rolled his eyes. Diesel 10 cleared his throat and continued.

"As I was _saying,_ Our dear new _friend_ , Class 40, has done us a great service today. He has outdone a steam engine. This is a diesel who is truly capable of proving that us diesels are the revolutionary way of the future, and we are in his debt. So let us, drink, gentlemen," Paxton took a breath, "Yes, Paxton, I am _entirely_ aware of the fact that we cannot literally drink. A toast to D261. He may be Class 40, but to us, he's top of the class!" The diesels erupted into cheering again. Class 40 himself was rather taken aback.

"Nobody's cheered for me in years..." He muttered, before his face broke out into a grin.

"Thank you! Thank you!" He smarmed, with as much charisma as he could muster. As the other diesels cheered, Diesel 10 dipped his claw into the fuel drum. He began drawing a crude image of a steam engine with the fuel on his claw. Once it was done, he smirked.

"Just watch out, steamies..." He snickered, and bashed his claw into it and smeared it everywhere, mutilating the picture.

* * *

Class 40 left the Dieselworks after getting a luxurious night of sleep. He coasted up to Ulfstead Castle in a brilliant mood, and rolled into the platform. Sir Robert was there, excitedly holding a list.

"Good morning, Class 40!" He said chipperly. Stephen was sitting nearby, and was curious at the wide grin across the diesel's face.

"Good morning, sir!" Class 40 grinned. Sir Robert looked at his list, before handing it to the driver.

"You've a lot to do today, Class 40! Hiro's out of commission for a while, so you are going to do his work until he is repaired. This should help you become a bit more familiar with the island!" The driver nodded, and the diesel started off. Stephen began to roll towards him.

"You're in a good mood today, Class 40." He commented. Class 40 scoffed.

"No time to talk to filthy steam engines! I'm top of the class; reputation to uphold, you know!" And he rolled down the hill, leaving a hurt Stephen behind.

* * *

As Class 40 went about his work, he ended up encountering many steam engines along the way. Out on the main line, he found Donald and Douglas, struggling to move a heavy line of ballast trucks. He switched onto their line and gave them a push, causing them to begin to move forward in a much quicker manner.

"When did ye get such grip, Douggie?" Donald asked.

"Me? I thought it was ye!" Douglas replied. As the signal was red, they came to a stop and Class 40 rolled alongside. The twins scowled at the diesel, but he simply grinned at them.

"What do yon diesels think ye are doing with our train!?" Douglas snapped.

"Simply showing how I'm _top of the class_." Class 40 smirked, and rolled away, leaving Donald and Douglas to cough behind him. 'Arry and Bert rolled down the other line, and grinned approvingly at Class 40.

"Stupid diesel..." Donald muttered. The Caledonian twins weren't the only ones outdone by Class 40. Percy was shunting trucks in the yard when he saw a long line of Troublesome Trucks moving towards him.

"Get away!" He cried, and reversed. However, at the rear of the train, Class 40 was rolling along whistling a little tune. Percy scowled.

"Bother." He muttered. James encountered Class 40 too. He had pulled into a station and was being admired by a group of passengers when Class 40 raced through. Something flew out of one of the trucks and hit James in the face.

"OUCH!" He cried, but the diesel was already long gone. Throughout the day, Class 40 caused all sorts of trouble for the steam engines! Gordon was speeding along the line with the express when Class 40 rocketed by, blowing leaves onto the big engine's face.

"Hey!" Gordon called, but the diesel was out of sight. Henry was at the washdown when Class 40 sped through a muddy puddle nearby, splashing him with mud all over again.

"Watch it!" Henry shouted. Emily was taking some passengers when she suddenly braked to a halt to see Class 40 speeding across her path.

"I had right of way!" She whistled, but Class 40 didn't care.

"Top of the class, that's me!" He announced to his trucks, "Keep in line!"

"WE DON'T CARE!" The exhausted trucks chorused, but Class 40 continued rambling.

* * *

That night, at Tidmouth Sheds, the engines all complained about Class 40's ego.

"He's worse than the first time!" Percy groaned.

"I don't know how he got such a high and mighty persona..." Edward put in.

"He nearly caused an accident!" Emily added.

"It's disgraceful!" Gordon snapped.

"Disgusting!" James added.

"Despicable!" Henry finished.

"But I don't see anything we can do about it..." Thomas sighed. The engines suggested all sorts of ideas, but none of them clicked. They were just going to have to wait for time to take its toll.

* * *

The following day, Class 40 had to take an important load of pipes to a ship on the mainland. He arrived in the yard, where Philip was shunting his trucks.

"Hurry up! I cannot be late!" The big diesel announced. Philip had never met this newcomer before, and was eager to prove himself.

"Yes, sir, big engine! In fact, I'll shunt the whole train at once!" He banged the multiple flatbeds of pipes into each other. They were very heavy, and Philip was having trouble moving them.

"Any minute now!" Philip called. The shunter was moving along at a snails pace. However, he dumped sand on the rails and surged forwards. Stanley and Rosie were both crossing the junction ahead. Philip rolled right into their path, and they suddenly braked to a stop.

"Philip!" They groaned. Philip managed to push the heavy flatbeds into Class 40. The diesel grunted proudly as they bumped his rear. However, as he was about to start off, he heard the two stopped engines saying something.

"My brakes! Philip, why were you going so fast?" Stanley demanded. Philip looked guilty.

"Sorry. Just wanted to show the big engine how strong I am." He sighed.

"Well, we can't pull our trains now! We've damaged our brakes!" Rosie said, exasperated. This gave Class 40 an idea.

"Two trains was no trouble...I'm sure if I pulled _three_ trains, they might love me even more!" He chuckled to himself.

"If you need assistance with your trains, I'll take them for you. I can travel fast enough to make up the time!" Class 40 called backwards.

"Three trains is no joke," Rosie cautioned, "We can wait for another engine."

"These are important trains, Rosie. He's our best option." Stanley pointed out. Rosie sighed. Philip excitedly got the trucks together and Class 40 smirked.

"This'll be easy! I am, after all, a _modern_ diesel engine!" Class 40 began to roll away, dragging his train of pipes, Stanley's train of crates, and Rosie's train full of unknown boxes, labled "Vicarstown Shopping Centre".

"Good luck, big engine!" Philip called out, but Class 40 was already around the bend.

* * *

Class 40 brought his long line of trucks down the main line. Despite not wanting to admit it, he was feeling the strain of the train.

"Come on!" He groaned, "I'm _top of the class_! Stupid trucks can't hold me back!" He rolled through Wellsworth, where Molly watched him.

"Do you n-need help? Your t-train seems v-very heavy!" She called. Class 40 scoffed, and continued onwards up the hill.

"I don't-huff-need help from a steamer!" He panted. As Class 40 rolled up the hill, he coughed out smoke, which flew into the faces of the trucks.

"Oh!" A truck coughed.

"Think you can pollute our air and get away with it?" Another grinned.

"Let's get 'im." Another one grinned. As Class 40 struggled over the top of the hill, the trucks pushed against him and he began to pick up speed.

"Stop it, you stupid trucks!" He wailed, but they only cackled as they pushed against him. Class 40 screamed as he was pushed onwards by the laughing trucks.

"Help! Help!" He wailed. He raced through Crosby station, startling Thomas, who was pulling the local.

"Whoa!" Thomas gasped, as the diesel rocketed through. Fortunately, the stationmaster had seen the runaway train, and phoned a nearby signalbox. Class 40 was diverted onto a siding further down the line, and picked up speed as he approached the siding.

"AHH!" He wailed. He barreled through the buffers and into the ditch below. Luckily, the train behind him managed to come to a halt. However, the trucks rammed into each other and one box soared out of one of the trucks. It landed on top of Class 40 and split, revealing its contents; bowler hats. Class 40 groaned in pain, while his driver and the guard ran back for help.

* * *

It took a long time for Rocky and a recently-repaired Hiro to arrive at the scene of the disaster. Hiro hauled the heavy trucks away, while Rocky lifted the damaged diesel back onto the rails. When Class 40 was upright again, he was surprised to see The Fat Controller and Winston staring him in the face.

"Had a bit of trouble there?" Winston mused. The Fat Controller, however, was not as jovial.

"It is not in my jurisdiction to scold you for your recklessness, D261." He said, "But I expect Sir Robert will have a few words for you when you return." Class 40 sighed. The Fat Controller then turned to Hiro.

"Hiro, there's still time for that load to catch the ship. I need you to just take the pipes over the bridge and to the ship."

"Yes, sir!" Hiro was coupled up to the pipes and began to roll away, while Donald and Douglas arrived to take the other trucks away. After this, Class 40 was dragged back to the Dieselworks by Sidney.

* * *

Hiro managed to make good time, and caught the ship with a few minutes to spare. When he returned, he was greeted to a hero's welcome.

"Hooray for Hiro!" The engines chorused as the big engine rolled past Tidmouth Sheds. Hiro grinned proudly.

* * *

Class 40's welcome back at the Dieselworks, however, was not quite as warm. When Sidney shunted the bruised and battered diesel onto the turntable, the other diesels all glared at him. Diesel 10 spoke with a cold expression.

"You managed to screw it up. I gave you power, influence, a legion of adoring fans...and you _squander_ it. Everyone's saying Hiro, a steamie, is so great, and you've made us look bad." He glared. Class 40 grinned back at him, weakly.

"No problem, Diesel 10. As soon as I'm repaired, I can get back to work and show those steamers how much better I am, right?" He chuckled. Diesel 10 scowled.

"No." The next thing Class 40 knew, he was sitting outside the repair sheds in the cold.

* * *

Over the next few days, Class 40's repairs were slowly but surely done. However, he was outcast from the other diesels and began to grow lonely. One night, he was surprised to see Stephen, Connor, and Caitlin arrive at the Dieselworks.

"What do you lot want?" He demanded.

"Simply wanted to see how our co-worker was getting on." Connor remarked.

"Not interested." He muttered. Stephen and Caitlin shared a glance, before Stephen spoke up.

"We thought we'd visit you to tell you that we look forward to you getting back." He smiled. Class 40 was shocked; he didn't think anyone wanted him since he stopped being "top of the class"!

"But, I-" Before he could continue, Caitlin cut him off. She backed into him tender-first, and slowly pushed him into the shed.

"To keep you out of the cold." She smiled. Class 40 was taken aback. The three engines began to roll away, Connor and Caitlin in a fashion much faster than Stephen. However, Class 40 called out to the old engine.

"Wait!" He said. Stephen paused.

"Yes?"

"T-thanks." Stephen chuckled, and continued on. Class 40 looked at the departing engines and couldn't help but chuckling.

"Funny to think my true friends would be a couple of steamers." He remarked, and went to sleep, now in the nice warm shed. The boiler hat that had lodged itself in his damaged wheels fell to the floor.

 **THE END**

* * *

Class 40's not a character most people bother with in terms of returnees, which I think is a darn shame. I chose to use him at Ulfstead Castle because that environment lacks the antagonistic force that other places do. With Class 40, however, there will be a bit of a rain cloud over the bright sunniness of Stephen, Caitlin, Connor, and Millie. He's matured since his first visit, although he still likes to talk a big game, he mostly is just a pessimist who likes to stay out of the spotlight. I think this story had a lot of good morals too. What goes around comes around, your true friends are the ones who stick with you in your lowest moments, etc. Giving Diesel 10 a role in this story was something I thought would be fun as well, as the scene of him giving a toast with a fuel drum was a particularly powerful image for influencing this story. This is my longest story yet, as well as having the largest speaking cast of any episode in the TV Series up to this point. Hopefully you enjoy the other stories of this DVD release! After all six episodes will be a special surprise _,_ so be ready! Come back tomorrow for _Close Encounters of the Toad Kind_!


	22. SS2 - Close Encounters of the Toad Kind

**CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE TOAD KIND**

Oliver and Toad were returning from a hard day of work on the Little Western as the sun set.

"Beautiful, isn't it Toad?" Oliver remarked as they passed a cliffside with a perfect view of the sunset.

"It certainly is, Mister Oliver." Toad smiled. As they passed some trees, Toad saw something darting through them.

"What was that, Mister Oliver!?" He was startled.

"What was what, Toad?" Oliver raised an eyebrow. The mysterious creature shuffled through the trees again, shaking some leaves onto the line.

"That!" Toad gasped. Oliver looked over and laughed as the mysterious creature stopped on a branch.

"That's a squirrel, Toad. You certainly have an imagination!" Oliver continued laughing, as Toad turned red. They disappeared around the bend, leaving the squirrel to sit on the branch, nibble on a nut, and then dart away.

* * *

Oliver and Toad returned to Arlesburgh sheds to find Duck speaking with Harold the Helicopter.

"Evening, Duck. Evening, Harold." Oliver said, "What's up?"

"Harold's on patrol and was asking me if I saw anything." Duck explained.

"Anything like what?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Last night, we got a call saying there was an unidentified flying object in the area. Those reports usually mean nothing, but we have to investigate them anyway." Harold explained, "You seen anything, Oliver?" Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Unidentified flying objects? What do you think I'd be seeing, aliens?" Harold chuckled.

"Point taken, chap. Good evening, gents." Harold took off spreading dust everywhere. Oliver's driver poked his head out of the cab.

"Speaking of aliens, it's movie night tonight!" He said, and stepped down after reversing Oliver and Toad into the sheds.

"Aliens...pah..." Oliver muttered, "Silly thought, isn't it, Toad?" But the brakevan was too deep in thought to respond.

* * *

It was movie night for the railway staff, and they were using an old projector to watch a scary film on the shed wall. Duck, Oliver, and Toad all watched the movie as well, but Toad seemed especially interested.

"Those aliens sure are scary, Mister Oliver." Toad commented. Oliver scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"It's all pretend, Toad. There are no aliens from outer space." He said. This made Toad upset.

"But our universe is so big, Mister Oliver! There's at least some possibility of other life being out there somewhere. And Harold said that there have been reports of UFOs! Maybe those are alien ships!" He said, gradually getting more excited. Oliver chuckled.

"You've got your head in the clouds, Toad. Harold said most of those reports amount to nothing." Before Toad could respond, Duck shushed them.

"Be quiet, you two! _Some_ of us are actually trying to watch the movie!" He snapped in a hushed voice. Oliver rolled his eyes and looked at the movie.

"What's even happening now?" He whispered.

"The aliens are probing the human. They abducted him in the middle of the night. Pay attention and you'd know what was going on." Duck said. Oliver quieted down and began to watch the movie.

"Ugh. That's rather unsettling." He shivered. Toad, however, was still thinking about aliens,

"I don't want to get probed..." He said, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Later that night, after the movie was over and Duck and Oliver had fallen asleep, a figure slunk into the yards. He began shunting trucks into a long line, and he began to leave. However, he realized he had forgotten something. He looked around the yard and saw Toad sitting in the shed. He rolled up to the brakevan so smoothly and so quietly, that Toad didn't even wake up as he was buffered to the back of the train, and began to be dragged away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Oliver was having a very strange dream.

"No! I don't want to get probed! Stop it! NO!" His eyes popped open and he began breathing heavily. His eyes darted around.

"Phew! It was just a dream!" He panted, "Toad, I had the str-" Oliver looked at where Toad had been, and was startled to discover that he wasn't there.

"Maybe this is just another dream!" Oliver said and he shut his eyes tightly again. He opened them, and Toad still wasn't there.

"Toad!? Toad!? Where are you!?" He looked all around the yard, but his beloved brakevan was nowhere in sight.

"Where could he be? He couldn't have rolled away!" Oliver was cut off by a whirring sound, and looked up in horror as he saw three bright lights fly above him.

"No...there's no such _thing_ as aliens, aren't there?" But he knew he was lying to himself. The three lights continued to follow the railway and around the corner.

"That must be a UFO, like Harold said. I _have_ to save Toad!" Oliver then began to leave the sheds into the night, chasing after the lights in the sky.

* * *

The long line of trucks with Toad at the end of it approached the junction. The train hit a bumpy rail and jolted Toad awake.

"What? What?" His eyes darted around. He was surprised to find himself in motion, and looked back to the trucks.

"Where are we going? The last thing I remember was movie night..." He asked. One truck was about to answer him, but another shushed him and the two grinned wickedly.

"We've been captured by aliens, Toad!" The truck closest to Toad said, "They want to probe us after they bring us back to their ship! They're at the front of the train!" Toad was horrified.

"Aliens! I was _right_! There really are aliens!" He gasped in horror. The trucks chuckled at one another.

"What do you suppose we should do, Toad?" One asked.

"Well, if we are going to escape, we need time to think of a plan..." Toad said. The train rattled along, as Toad began to think of what they could do to escape the aliens.

* * *

The UFO soared above the main line, as Oliver chased after it.

"Give me back my friend!" He called. The mysterious object didn't respond. Oliver raced along the line at top speed. But, as any wise engine knows, it isn't wise to go somewhere you aren't supposed to be in the dark! Oliver rolled along the main line, when he suddenly saw Gordon racing towards him in the other direction.

"Get out of my way!" The express engine called, and the signalman switched the points to allow Oliver to pass...just in time. Gordon braked to a halt, and called back to Oliver as he raced onwards.

"Mind your track, rail-hog!" He grumbled. Oliver was too far away to hear, nor did he want to stop. The UFO was getting farther ahead, and he couldn't afford to lose it. Toad's train continued along the line, when they were suddenly directed onto a siding. Because of this, Toad didn't see Oliver race by, and Oliver didn't see Toad.

* * *

Oliver approached Wellsworth Station, and saw the UFO swerving off in the direction of Edward's Branch Line. He whistled, waking Molly up.

"Ol-liver? What are y-you d-doing here? It's the m-middle of the n-n-night!" She stuttered.

"Toad's been abducted by aliens! I have to catch that UFO!" Oliver shouted back. Molly raised an eyebrow as the Great Westerner disappeared.

"I'm h-having one s-strange d-dream..." She then closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

* * *

Oliver raced along the line, his eyes darting left and right looking for any sign of the UFO. He raced through Suddery, and saw it heading towards the Sodor Search & Rescue Centre.

"Perfect! We can catch it there and get Toad back!" He switched tracks and raced towards the Search and Rescue Centre.

"I'm coming for you, aliens! And I _will_ get my friend back!" At the Search & Rescue Centre, all the vehicles were fast asleep. Oliver whistled loudly and they jolted awake.

"Emergency! Toad has been abducted by aliens!" He shouted.

"Aliens!" Captain shouted, and raced out of his shed. Once he was in the water, however, he stopped.

"Aliens?" He looked bewildered. Belle and Flynn shared a glance.

"Are you sure that it's aliens, Oliver?" Belle asked, with complete seriousness. Flynn, however, was looking up and stifling laughter.

"Yes! I'm sure! Their ship was right above us!" Oliver said. Flynn then burst out laughing.

"Flynn! This is an emergency! Why are you laughing!?" Belle snapped. Flynn looked up and laughed.

"Is _that_ your UFO, Oliver?" Above them were the three lights on the UFO, gradually getting closer. However, as they descended, it became clear that they were something else. Landing on his helipad was Harold. Oliver's jaw dropped, and Flynn, Captain, and Butch burst out laughing. Belle glared at all three.

"Guys!" She scolded.

"What's so funny?" Harold asked. Oliver looked down in shame.

"I thought you were an alien ship..." He muttered. Harold raised an eyebrow.

"What made you think that?" He asked.

"Toad's gone! Disappeared in the middle of the night; I have no idea where he is! We were watching an alien movie earlier tonight and I guess I let it get to me..." Oliver sighed.

"Well, Toad certainly wasn't abducted by aliens, but I can make another flight to look for him if you would like." Harold offered. Oliver smiled sadly.

"That'd be great, thank you Harold. I'm going home. I'm exhausted." Oliver then reversed away, leaving Belle to sharply glare at Flynn, Captain, and Butch as Harold took off again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Toad and the trucks had formulated a plan to escape the aliens.

"Alright, I don't normally encourage this, but if we break away on the hill, then we can escape before we get probed!" Toad whispered to the trucks. They all agreed, and the plan was set into motion as they reached Gordon's Hill. As the long line of trucks climbed the hill, they began to hold back, aided by Toad, who slipped his brakes on. The figure at the front of the train struggled hard, but the coupling broke and the trucks began to roll down.

"We've escaped!" Toad cheered. The figure began racing around, switching tracks as it reversed. However, at the bottom of the hill, Oliver was returning home from the Search & Rescue Centre, and was rolling across the junction back onto the main line. Toad saw him, and tried to brake to a halt, but the heavy trucks pushed on.

"Stop! Mister Oliver! Get out of the way!" Toad cried, but it was too late. Toad rammed into Oliver's side, and the engine-brakevan duo fell off the rails, Oliver onto his side. The trucks rattled along behind them and created a massive pile-up. Oliver groaned woozily, but then looked at Toad and grinned.

"Toad! You're alright!" He cheered, "I thought you had been abducted by aliens!"

"But I was, Mister Oliver!" Toad said, "And they're coming this way!" Oliver and Toad looked at the hill, horrified. Coming towards them was a monster-like shape. However, Oliver squinted.

"That's not an alien, Toad!" Oliver said. The engine rolled up, and whistled.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Toad and Oliver were very surprised!

" _Gator!?_ " The two were in utter shock. Gator, however, was more concerned about their safety.

"Are you two alright? You had a nasty collision! And what are you doing out here, Oliver? I thought you were back at Arlesburgh!" He said.

"It's a long story, Gator." Oliver muttered. Toad was very embarrassed.

* * *

The following morning, Gator brought Oliver and Toad to the Steamworks after the mess had been cleared up. Victor was there.

"Gator! What a pleasure to see you, my friend!" Victor greeted, "Now what happened to you two?" He asked, looking at the battered and dented Oliver and Toad. The two were silent with shame.

"I don't know, Victor. They haven't told me!" Gator commented. Oliver sighed.

"Toad and I watched an alien movie and I guess it got to our heads," he explained, "I stayed out chasing a UFO...which turned out to be Harold." Toad then spoke up.

"I couldn't see Mister Gator, so the trucks tricked me into thinking I had been abducted by aliens to be probed. So I conspired with them to break away so I wouldn't get probed, and I ended up hitting Mister Oliver." Gator sighed.

"This was my fault. I'm back on the island to help the Fat Controller with the Harwick Harbour restoration project, and I was supposed to pick up empty trucks from your yard tonight. I was debating whether or not to wake you up, Oliver, when I took Toad, as he was just the first brakevan I saw. I decided not to and I ended up causing this mess. I'm so sorry." He said, ashamed. However, Toad spoke up.

"If it's anyone's fault, it's ours, Mister Gator. You have to always address a dangerous situation in a calm, rational way, even when it's hard. We panicked and we ended up causing a lot of trouble." He finished. Oliver and Gator shared an impressed glance.

"That was very insightful, Toad." Gator smiled. Oliver murmured in agreement. Toad chuckled.

"Thank you." He said.

"Well, I must be off. Someone has to do your work while you're repaired, you know!" Gator chuckled, and rolled away. Oliver and Toad shared a knowing glance.

* * *

That evening, as their repairs went on, Oliver and Toad spoke about the previous night's events.

"It's my fault for talking about silly aliens..." Toad sighed. Oliver smiled.

"You might not be wrong about aliens, Toad. Our universe is so big that it is entirely possible that other life is out there. But for now, let's focus on being really useful, okay?" He said. Toad smiled back.

"Certainly, Mister Oliver." And with that, the best friends looked up at the beautiful sky.

 **THE END**

* * *

Compared to _Top of the Class,_ this is a rather lighthearted story. Despite Toad's name being in the title, this is more of a story about Oliver than Toad. I used the Search and Rescue Centre in this one for the simple reason that I would get no other opportunity to use them this season. And surprise, surprise, Gator's back! I want to do an episode with him and Percy next set, but know that he will also appear in _Toby's Travels_ when we get there. This story can be broken up into two parts; the Oliver part, which I call _Unidentified Flying Oliver,_ and the Toad part, which I call _Abduc-toad,_ and they come back together for the surprise ending. This was a fun little episode, and I hope you all are looking forward to the next one, _The Missing Ballast Trucks,_ uploaded tomorrow! Leave a review and follow the story for more!


	23. SS3 - The Missing Ballast Trucks

**THE MISSING BALLAST TRUCKS**

The Arlesdale Railway was very busy, transporting ballast down from the hills for the big engines to take away. They all loved the business, but some of them had begun to grow weary of the busy extra work. One of these engines was Mike. He loved working with trucks, but the hot summer sun was beginning to take its toll and he was growing restless.

"I never thought I'd _miss_ passenger work..." He muttered as he rolled along the Green. Bert, however, didn't mind the extra work. He loved rolling along the line, with trees on either side, a column of steam erupting from his funnel. The ballast hoppers could be a little rough, but Bert didn't mind. He knew he was being really useful, and that's all that mattered.

"This is the life!" Bert chortled. Suddenly, however, he saw a sign and gasped.

"Driver! Stop!" The train rolled to a halt. Bert's driver got up.

"What's wrong, Bert?" He asked.

"There's a sign! It says 'Duck Crossing'! We didn't hit any ducks, did we?" His driver sighed and laughed.

"The signal's green, Bert! They turn the signal red on the sign when ducks have to cross. You really are a silly engine!" He climbed back into the cab, and Bert looked embarrassed.

* * *

One day, Bert returned to the yard with a train of full ballast hoppers, to shunt another empty train to take down to the mines, while Mike and Rex had a brief moment of rest in the shed. The two engines watched as Bert cheerily shunted his full hoppers onto the chute, and then headed off to get some more.

"How does he _do_ it?" Mike commented, bewildered, "This heat's enough to drive any engine mad! Why is he so cheerful?"

"Well, ignorance is bliss, I suppose." Rex chuckled, "You and I both know that Bert isn't the brightest lamp on the running plate, if you get my meaning. But he's cheerful. Puts a smile on everyone's face." Mike snorted as Bert whistled and began humming a little tune as he left the yard.

"Why does _he_ get to be cheerful and on time? I'm out in the sun all day, and I get _no_ sympathy for hot boxes, or running dry, or..." Mike halted his rant to smirk. He had a brilliant idea.

"Why don't I take happy little Bert off his cloud of perfection, and down to our level, eh Rex?" He grinned. Rex rolled his eyes.

"What do you suggest?" He asked, with mock enthusiasm. Mike chuckled.

"I have to head down to the ballast mines now. You'll just have to wait and see, Rexie!" He whistled, and puffed away snickering to himself. Rex raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Down at the mines, Bert backed down onto another line of ballast hoppers and began to roll away. However, he saw some points set against him and braked to a halt.

"Oh no!" He cried, "I'm stuck! How am I going to get to the yard now?" Frank, who was rolling by, raised an eyebrow.

"Just change the points, Bert." He said. Bert turned red.

"Oh. Right, Frank." His driver switched the points and he puffed away, trying to hide his shame. As Bert left, Mike arrived. He looked around and saw Frank shunting a long line of ballast wagons and grinned to himself. He rolled over.

"Hey, Frank. Who are those trucks for?" He asked.

"Bert. When he's due back later, that is. I don't see why he can't shunt his own ruddy trucks. Lazy little..." Frank began grumbling. Mike grinned.

"If it's that much of a problem, Frank, I could shunt Bert's trucks for him. Could give your tired wheels a rest, eh?" He said. Frank was suspicious, but a chance for rest was a chance for rest.

"Alright, Mike." He said, and rolled away. Mike grinned and began to shunt the heavy ballast hoppers into a line. He looked around and saw a siding. He smirked.

"Heh. This'll keep Bert waiting a while." He shunted the hoppers towards the back of the siding, leaving them to hit the buffers with a dull bump. He whistled, and then headed off to pull his own train.

* * *

In the yard, Bert was shunting some ballast trucks onto the chute for Sidney to take away. Sidney had only started working with the small engines very recently, but had already grown fond of them and their efficiency. However, he noticed that Bert looked down.

"Something wrong, erm...Bart?" Sidney asked. Bert sighed.

"I feel like I'm not as clever as everyone else. Everyday, I end up muddling something up because I don't understand it, and nobody respects me because of it. I wish I could be clever like Rex or Mike." He looked miserable. Sidney smiled.

"I've been in a similar situation to you before, Baxter."

"Bert."

"Right, Bert. I don't have the best memory around, and everyone thinks I'm a little dim because of it. I'll be the first to admit that. But it doesn't really matter if I'm smart or not because I know that I'm really useful. And as long as you feel you are really useful, you really needn't worry. You are not a stupid engine, Bert, you are kind. And if you are kind, you must be a pretty wise engine!" Bert smiled.

"Thanks, Sidney." Bert looked to the clock and gasped.

"What's wrong?" Sidney asked.

"I'm late to pick up my train at the ballast mines! I must have gotten so distracted that I...oh, dear!" Bert sped away, leaving Sidney behind.

* * *

Mike was heading up to the yards with his train of ballast hoppers, and was really enjoying himself. However, he heard Bert's whistle and saw him speed past on the other line. He chuckled to himself as the panicking Bert approached the mines.

* * *

Bert rolled into the mines and began to frantically search for his train.

"Frank! Where are my trucks?" He asked as Frank shunted some wagons nearby.

"How should I know? Mike shunted your train, not me." He said. Bert groaned and resumed his search. He combed the mines from siding to siding, searching for his missing train on all of the sidings except one; this one was blocked by hoppers, and Bert didn't want to upset Frank again, so he didn't move them. At last, he gave up.

"If I look for the trucks anymore, I'm going to be even more late!" He sighed, and began to leave the mine, truck-less and ashamed.

* * *

Back at the yards, Mike was telling Sidney and Rex about his trick. He was laughing hysterically. Rex didn't think it was very funny. Sidney didn't really comprehend it.

"I cannot _wait_ to see the look on his stupid face when he can't find his hoppers! This is priceless!" He chortled. Rex and Sidney shared a glance.

"I don't think that was such a good idea, Mike." Rex chuckled nervously.

"Why? What could have possibly gone wrong? It's all for a laugh!" Mike laughed loudly. Before Rex could continue, Sidney spoke up.

"Well, um, Mark, I don't think the Small Controller is going to be happy with either you _or_ Bert if you're intentionally delaying trains. If Bert can't find it, he's certainly going to be asking questions about an entire missing train!" Mike grumbled.

"Fine. I'll go and get the hoppers. You lot are no fun." He whistled and departed.

* * *

Down at the mine, Frank was shunting when he moved the hoppers right in front of the siding forwards. He was surprised to see an entirely full train sitting on the siding.

"That must be Bert's missing train! What was Mike thinking putting it here? I'd expect Bert's gone by now...Bert! Bert!" Frank called, but Bert was nowhere in sight, "I'll expect I have to take it up to the yards by myself now. _Wonderful._ I never any appreciation for all the hard work I do! It's ridiculous! And now, I'm taking other engines' trains for them..." As Frank grumbled out of the yard, Mike steamed past him. He didn't realize that Frank had his trucks! He puffed back towards the siding, and headed down towards the end.

"Alright, hoppers, we've got to-" Mike's eyes widened as he looked around. The trucks were gone!

"Frank? Where are the trucks?" But Frank was already out of sight. Mike frantically began to search the sidings up and down for the full ballast hoppers. But they were nowhere to be found!

"Where are they?" Mike frantically bumped into some hoppers, which flew forwards, into some buffers, and off the rails. Mike groaned.

* * *

Bert steamed into the yard after delivering his passengers. He was extremely distraught over the missing trucks, and rolled alongside Rex to get some more water before his evening train.

"The Small Controller's not going to be very happy with me..." Bert sighed. Rex cleared his throat awkwardly.

"This about your trucks?" He asked. Bert was surprised.

"How did you know about my-" He was cut off by the loud blast of a horn, and Frank rolled into the yards, with Bert's train of trucks behind him.

"Looking for these, Bert?" He said. Bert was astonished.

"How did you find them?" He spluttered.

"Mike put them on a siding somewhere. I don't know what he was thinking putting them there, but..." Frank started. Bert cut him off.

"Mike! He must have hidden my trucks from me to make me feel stupid!" Bert looked like he was about to cry. Frank did too, but this was most likely due to being interrupted.

"Hit the nail right on the head." Rex remarked. Bert, however, was still upset.

"I checked every siding! And he puts it on the _one_ siding I decided not to!" However, the gears began to turn in his head, and Bert grinned wickedly. Rex looked mildly uncomfortable.

"You alright, Bert?" He asked. Bert chuckled.

"Why don't _we_ get back at Mike?" He chuckled, and whispered his plan to Rex and Frank, who were most impressed with Bert's cleverness.

* * *

After several hours, Mike finally managed to pull the derailed hoppers back onto the rails. He was exhausted, and had completely given up and finding the trucks. Dejected, he limped back to Arlesburgh Junction, feeling rather foolish. When he arrived, he saw Bert and the Small Controller and groaned.

"Mike!" The Small Controller shouted. Mike cringed.

"Yes, sir?" He asked innocently. The Small Controller marched over.

"I have been told that you were _intentionally_ trying to delay a train today, Mike!" Mike winced.

"Yes, sir."

"Let me be perfectly clear, Mike. My engines do _not_ go about intentionally trying to cause commotion and cunctation! We're lucky that Bert was able to find them so quickly; very clever engine indeed, he is." Mike's jaw practically hit his running plate with how far it dropped! Bert smirked.

"Hopefully, this doesn't happen again." The Small Controller continued, "And if it does, there will be consequences." And with that, he walked away, leaving an astonished Mike sitting in the yards.

* * *

That evening in the sheds, Mike, Bert, and Rex all sat next to one another. Mike was very ashamed, and was trying his best to stay silent. However, Bert spoke up.

"Funny, Mike. You try to prove that I'm not smart, but you end up looking quite stupid yourself. Guess you've learned something?" He smiled. Mike sighed.

"Sorry for underestimating you, Bert...I'm sorry..." He smiled sadly, and Bert chuckled back.

"Well now you know." The two engines shared a smile. Rex chuckled, and looked to the ballast chute. Sidney was there, with the last load of the day, and the two shared a grin. Sidney then left the yards, smiling at Bert. Since then, Mike has been much more faithful in Bert. Although, to this day, no one has let him in on the joke about "The Missing Ballast Trucks"!

 **THE END**

* * *

I quite like the Arlesdale engines. As opposed to the North Western Railway, which is a wide spectrum, and the Skarloey Railway, which is usually pretty civilized, the small engines thrive on being complete and utter jerks to one another. I think this episode really shows this dynamic well. It is simple, but it shows old relationships and new ones. Bert and Sidney (whose new things is forgetting names; developing him a bit more) is a fun friendship, while the Rex-Mike-Bert rivalry/friendship (with Frank crying in the corner) has the spotlight. See you guys tomorrow for _Toby's Travels_!


	24. SS4 - Toby's Travels

**TOBY'S TRAVELS**

The Fat Controller's project to restore Harwick Harbour was in full swing. Every day, Ryan and Gator would run supply trains up to the site, where the Pack was working hard to help build new buildings and demolish old ones. One day, Gator pulled into Arlesburgh station with some stone trucks when he saw Daisy.

"Good morning, Daisy! Where are you off to this morning?" He called. Daisy scoffed.

"I have to bring workmen and tools to your little sandbox, Gerald. It's positively degrading!" She groaned.

"It's _Gator._ And what's so bad about bringing workmen and tools? We need everyone to make sure this harbour gets up and running, and that includes you! Even if you have to pull trucks!" He pointed out. Daisy was furious!

"You think you can waltz onto _my_ turf and order me around like that? First Toby back when I worked on Thomas' branch line, now you! _I'm_ high-class! You're just a thermos with wheels, and Toby's a wooden box! No one tells me what to do!" And with that, Daisy stormed away in a huff. Gator raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Gator arrived at the harbour with the train of stone, while Ryan shunted some trucks into place for Oliver the excavator to unload.

"Hey, Ryan! Got some new stone for the seawall!" Gator called. Ryan whistled excitedly, and backed up from the trucks to head towards him.

"Brilliant! Bring them right over there, Gator!" He looked to a siding on the other side of the yard, and Gator obliged. He shunted the trucks up to the buffers with a dull bump, and continued onwards to shunt more trucks. The operation was highly efficient, and Ryan and Gator worked well together.

* * *

Later that afternoon however, there was a problem.

"We've no more stone!" Oliver called over to the foreman, "We can't complete the seawall without it!" The foreman sighed and looked to his clipboard.

"I'll call up Ffarquhar Quarry and have them bring another load down." He then walked towards the office. Gator, who was nearby, raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you call the signalmen too, sir? Mavis has to travel on the main line to get down here and she needs a path!" He said. The foreman chuckled.

"The quarry people usually do it, Gator. Don't worry." He then walked into his office, leaving Gator and Oliver to share a concerned glance.

* * *

It was a gorgeous day on Thomas' Branch Line. Thomas himself was rolling along the line with Annie and Clarabel when he heard a bell. He smiled.

"Good morning, Toby." Toby rolled on by with Henrietta, and rang his bell again.

"It certainly is, Thomas." He chuckled. Toby passed Thomas and rolled on past Terence's field. The tractor saw Toby and honked out a greeting.

"Morning, Toby!" He called. Toby rang his bell back. Henrietta chuckled.

"You're certainly Mister Popular today, Toby!" She commented. Toby turned red.

"Just my normal run, Henrietta. This happens every day." Henrietta laughed, while the duo were switched onto the line leading up to the quarry.

* * *

At the quarry, however, Mavis wasn't feeling the gorgeous weather. She had been working hard all morning, and was covered in dust. The trucks weren't making it any easier for her, and she was at her wits' end.

"Push! Pull! Push! Pull! Us Troublesome Trucks just won't stay full!" They giggled. Mavis banged them hard.

"Fiddlesticks!" She groaned, as dust flew onto her paint and the trucks cackled. She panted in exhaustion before she heard Toby's bell.

"Oh, thank goodness. It's you." She said, as the startled tram engine rolled alongside.

"Mavis? What's going on?" He asked, as the trucks giggled.

"The quarry's busier than usual today. I haven't felt so rushed off my wheels in years!" She honked her horn, and got back to shunting. However, the quarry manager walked up and stopped Mavis. Toby, who had moved to a siding to drop off Henrietta and the workmen, watched with interest.

"Mavis, A new order of stone is needed down at Harwick Harbour, and they need it today! You must take the stone down at some point during the day, and be quick about it! The quarry can't shunt itself, you know!" Mavis sighed.

"Oh dear. How am I going to get between Harwick and here in a couple of hours? That's way in the northern part of the island!" Toby overheard this, and felt sorry for Mavis.

"Excuse me, sir." He said, and rolled over to Mavis and the quarry manager, "If it's too much for Mavis to go down there, I could do it. I don't have anymore trains until the evening, so I have the time." Mavis smiled at Toby.

"Could you, Toby? That'd be wonderful." The quarry manager tapped his chin in thought.

"I don't see why not. Well, come on then, Toby. Couple up." Toby switched tracks and backed down onto the stone trucks. He was excited to get to go up to Harwick.

"Be careful, Toby! It's a long way up there, so conserve water!" Henrietta called, concerned. Toby chuckled.

"Don't worry, Henrietta. I will!" Toby rang his bell, and rolled away with the heavy trucks behind him. However, as Toby left, Henrietta realized something and looked at the quarry manager.

"Shouldn't you call the signalmen to give him a path?" She asked. The quarry manager brushed the air aside in a "don't-worry-about-it" way.

"I expect the construction people have done it." And with that he walked away, leaving Henrietta looking worried as Mavis returned to her work. But they hadn't.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sidney was on his way up to the construction site. He was bringing more fuel for the machines, or at least he _thought_ he was.

"Fuel for the machines at Harwick Harbour, fuel for the machines at Harwick Harbour..." He recited to himself, struggling to remember where he needed to go. He approached Bluff's Cove, but spotted a bird on the line and braked to a stop.

"Wow! A bird!" The bird flew away, "That was fun! Oh bother, where am I supposed to be going again? Erm..." Sidney stopped in the station platform. He looked confused.

"Where am I?" As he had his debacle concerning where exactly he was and where he was going, he missed his road, and the points switched. As a result of this, Toby was able to keep on rolling along the line without problem.

"That was surprisingly easy." He chuckled to himself, "Great to not be held up!" However, he didn't see the confused Sidney behind him, as he followed the diesel's road!

* * *

At Arlesburgh Harbour, Skiff the Railboat was preparing to give another tour.

"Ahoy, mateys!" Skiff called in a faux-pirate voice to the boarding tourists, before laughing, "Is everyone ready for today's tours?" The tourists cheered, and Skiff's driver opened the sail, allowing them to begin to move along the harbour line.

"Now as we can see over here, this is the famous seawall! This allows us to look at the beautiful ocean without falling in! Hah!" Skiff chuckled at his own joke. The passengers took pictures. They then approached the crossing. Skiff knew that he had to be careful when crossing here, but there were no trains due through for a while. He opened the sail and sped up.

"Now we've got to be quick here, as a train could come through at any...MINUTE!?" As Skiff crossed the section, he was startled to see Toby coming down the line with a couple of trucks filled with stone. His driver swung the sail, and Skiff sped up over the crossing. Toby just missed him as the two parted.

"What was THAT!?" Skiff gasped. Toby, however, didn't realize what had happened and thought that Skiff was in the wrong.

"Watch your road!" He called, leaving a simultaneously relieved and confused Skiff behind.

"I could swear that no other trains were due through here..." His driver scratched his head as the passengers, blissfully unaware, took pictures. Skiff could only look concerned once more.

* * *

Further down the line, Ryan and Rocky were working on repairing a bridge.

"Move me a little closer, Ryan!" Rocky called, and Ryan nervously backed up.

"This bridge is a little nerve-wracking, Rocky. I mean, if anyone travels over it, it could collapse!" He looked up worriedly as some dust fell from the bridge onto his running board. Rocky chuckled.

"Don't worry, Ryan. We've put danger signs all down the line. I don't see how anyone could miss those!" He then returned to lifting scaffolding into place on the bridge, leaving Ryan to concernedly look up.

"I hope..."

* * *

Unfortunately, on the line above, high winds had caused some of the "danger" signs closer to the bridge to fall over, and Toby was unaware that he was headed for trouble.

"Is that a sign in the bushes over there?" He squinted and looked to the bush, but he couldn't see anything. He looked back to the rails and approached the bridge.

"The line seems to be a straight shot...I should probably speed up, so I'm not late." He began to speed up, with the heavy trucks pushing him onwards. As Toby approached, Rocky and Ryan heard him. They shared a horrified glance.

"Toby! Stop!" Ryan cried, but Toby couldn't hear him. Toby rattled over the bridge, leaving Ryan to push Rocky out of the way as quickly as he could. Luckily, as Toby cleared the bridge, it didn't collapse. However, Ryan and Rocky were rather shocked.

" _No one would miss it_ , you said!" Ryan fumed. Rocky looked up at the bridge.

"Why did no one tell us there was a train passing on that line?" He wondered, before the workmen went to make sure Toby's entrance hadn't damage the bridge.

* * *

Toby rumbled along the line, rather curious on the way engines were reacting to his arrival.

"I know I'm not up here often, but the signalmen know I'm here. Why is everyone so shocked to see me come through?" However, he didn't have anymore time to think; he was approaching Harwick station. He began to slow down.

* * *

Daisy pulled into Harwick station, and looked to the clock. She chuckled to herself.

"Right on time! Haha! I'd love to show everyone just how reliable I am! Especially that old Toby. If only he could see me now on my own branch line! He'd throw a-" Daisy was cut off when Toby came barreling into the station on her line.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed, and began to quickly reverse, leaving her confused passengers on the platform. Toby slammed his brakes on and the trucks screamed behind him as Toby finally managed to come to a stop.

"Daisy! What are you doing on my line?" He demanded. Daisy spluttered.

" _Your_ line! I take this line every day! _You're_ the one who isn't supposed to be here! Now get out of my way!" As Toby and Daisy glared at one another, the stationmaster walked over.

"Daisy's right. There's no report of a stone train due through here today, Toby." Daisy smirked. Toby, however, was bewildered.

"The quarry manager said the construction people called the signalboxes to let me through!" He said. Daisy sneered at him.

"Apparently not. Guess who's boss on _my_ turf?" Daisy honked her horn and rolled away. Toby rolled onto a siding, while the stationmaster called the signalboxes ahead to call for a proper road. He felt ashamed.

"Did no one call?" He thought.

* * *

Back at the quarry, Henrietta was waiting for Toby to return so they could bring the workmen home. However, it was getting later and later, and Toby was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Toby, Mavis?" She asked the diesel nearby. Mavis was surprised to see Henrietta still there.

"He's not back yet? Harwick isn't _that_ far..." She said. She then saw the quarry manager stomping over to his car.

"Something wrong, sir?" She asked. The manager fumed.

"Toby's _still_ not at the site! And now _I_ have to drive down there and find him! Take the workmen home, please, Mavis." He slammed the door, and drove away. Henrietta and Mavis shared a worried glance as the diesel backed down.

* * *

Mavis and Henrietta arrived at Elsbridge and saw the Fat Controller on the platform. He was surprised to see them.

"Mavis? Why do you have Henrietta? Where's Toby?" He asked. Mavis was about to speak when Henrietta spoke up.

"I _warned_ them, but did they listen to me? _No!_ " She fumed. Mavis chuckled.

"Toby offered to take my train of stone up to Harwick, but there was an issue and he hasn't arrived yet. The quarry manager went up to check on him." She explained. Henrietta scowled.

"It's because they didn't call for a road!" Henrietta fumed. The Fat Controller pondered.

"I'll go up and see what I can do." He walked down to the platform and climbed into Winston, before driving away towards Harwick.

* * *

It was evening when Toby was finally able to take his trucks up to Harwick. He was very late, and embarrassingly shuffled into the construction site as they were shutting down for the evening. The foreman was very cross.

"The quarry people were supposed to call for a road! And now we're behind schedule!" He said, slapping his clipboard. Toby was very embarrassed.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, sir." He said. The foreman sighed and rubbed his temples in stress.

"You'll have to stay here for the night, Toby. The shed's over there." Toby rang his bell and sadly rolled over to the shed, where Ryan and Gator were resting. However, before Toby could go back to sleep, the quarry manager in his car drove in. He got out and looked at the foreman.

"You were supposed to give Toby a road!" He said. The foreman spluttered.

"No, you were!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!" However, someone else drove in in Winston. He got out and raised an eyebrow at the shouting match.

"SILENCE!" The Fat Controller bellowed. The two men instantly silenced. Toby, Gator, and Ryan looked at the debacle in front of them.

"Mavis and Henrietta told me about this little scuffle, and I have to say that you two have some explaining to do." He said. The quarry manager and foreman scratched their heads in shame.

"We wanted a stone train up here, but we each assumed the other had called for a road. And so, Toby ran into a little, erm, trouble." The foreman explained. The Fat Controller sighed.

"Gentlemen, when it comes to railways, you always have to double-check. If you don't, what almost happened at Harwick today could happen. I hope you two learn from this." The two men sighed awkwardly.

"Yes, sir." They said together. The Fat Controller then turned to Toby.

"This wasn't your fault, Toby, but just be careful." He then strode away and returned to Winston. Gator chuckled and looked to Toby.

"He means always make sure signals are double-checked." The two engines, and Ryan laughed.

* * *

From then on, Toby always made sure that he had a proper road.

"Has the signalman been called?" He asked the quarry manager as he backed down onto another stone train. The manager sighed.

"Yes, he has. Now off with you!" The quarry manager and foreman also were much more knowledgeable about checking with one another concerning deliveries. And Daisy, Ryan, and Skiff were a lot more eagle-eyed about knowing what is coming!

 **THE END**

* * *

This episode had a pretty fun cast. More Gator, more Terence, more Sidney, and best of all, more Daisy! Toby's not a character I write for often, because I fear I can't do him justice, as he's one of my favorites. However, I think I did his character well in today's outing. Writing this also made me appreciate Henrietta a bit more, so expect an episode from her next set. Today's episode was pretty simple, but be prepared for a rather complex, multi-layered outing in tomorrow's _A China Clay Christmas!_


	25. SS5 - A China Clay Christmas

**A CHINA CLAY CHRISTMAS**

Edward the Blue Engine puffed down his branch line with empty trucks, looking at the snow around him. He loved this time of year. The sounds of ringing church bells sounded out throughout the villages, and Edward watched glistening snow begin to build up on the bare trees. He approached the Vicarage Orchard, where Trevor was resting.

"Good morning, Trevor!" He called, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Edward!" Trevor called back. Edward whistled and braked to a stop, as the signal was red.

"Hard to believe it's so close to Christmas already!" He remarked. Trevor chuckled.

"Not really. The roads are as snowy as ever, the church bells are ringing..."

"...and Bill and Ben are up to their old tricks." Edward muttered.

"Oh? What do you mean, Edward?" Trevor asked. Edward sighed.

"The China Clay works close for the winter after Christmas. During this season, the Fat Controller loans Timothy, Bill, and Ben to do other work. It helps us a lot with keeping to time, but Bill and Ben are absolutely insufferable this time of year! They're taking out the last of the clay for the season right now, and then we have to deal with them for two months!" The signal dropped.

"Aye. Well, good luck, Edward! Merry Christmas!" Trevor said. Edward smiled.

"Thanks. Merry Christmas, Trevor." He blew his whistle and started off towards Brendam Docks.

* * *

At the docks...

"Ready, set, go!" Bill and Ben took off, shunting trucks full of clay. Salty saw them and gasped.

"Bill! Ben! Stop going so fast! There could be trouble if you're going at that speed!" He called, but the twins rocketed past. Salty heard a whistle and saw Timothy racing after them.

"Bill! Ben! Wait up! Slow down!" Timothy gasped, "You're going to have an accident!"

"Oh really, Timothy?"

"Why don't you make us, then?" Bill and Ben giggled and sped up. However, they saw someone by Cranky who caused them to gasp and brake to a stop. Timothy didn't realize this until he saw a china clay truck stopped in front of him and rammed into it. He didn't come off the rails, but was covered in clay. The twins grinned sheepishly at the engine in front of them.

"Oh, _hey,_ BoCo." Bill chuckled. BoCo raised an eyebrow.

"What are you two doing zooming around the docks? You could cause an accident!" He said sternly. Bill and Ben looked at each other.

"It wasn't our fault, BoCo!" Ben said.

"Yeah," said Bill, "it was..."

"Timothy!" The two then whistled and rolled away laughing. Timothy was left behind, covered in clay and looking miserable. BoCo rolled over to him.

"It wasn't really me, BoCo." Timothy said. BoCo sighed.

"I know, Timothy." He backed down onto his trucks again.

"They just sped away with the trucks! I tried to stop them, but they didn't listen to me!" BoCo looked to Timothy and sighed.

"You need to be harder on them, Timothy. Ever since I stopped working down at the clay pits they've been running amok. You need to show them that their tricks will be punished." Timothy looked away.

"Yes, BoCo. I'll make sure they're whipped in shape." Timothy said, and began to back away.

"You're all loaded up, BoCo!" Cranky called, and BoCo, after honking his horn, started off as well. As Timothy returned to the clay pits, he felt very upset.

"It's always the same around this time of year...I hope that Marion is at least having a good time..."

* * *

"Deck the halls with bows of holly! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!" Marion rumbled along the line shoveling snow from side to side. When work on the China Clay pits winded down in the winter, Marion was put to work shoveling the heavier snowdrifts while the other engines were hard at work. Right now, she was shoveling the scenic branch line, and, coupled back to back with her and a works coach, Lucian's patience with her singing was wearing very thin.

"Marion, please be quiet! You're going to scare the animals!" He said. Marion turned red.

"Oh, sorry, Lucian! I just love this season! With all the snow covering the ground, and whatnot! It's delightful!" Marion giggled snd Lucian's expression softened.

"Oh alright, just be a little quieter about it!" Marion grinned and returned to loudly singing, causing Lucian to cringe.

* * *

After the job was done, Marion returned to Killdane station, and looked excitedly at the decorations around her.

"I do love Christmas!" However, Marion heard a whistle, and her eyes jolted to her right. She was surprised to see Emily there.

"Oh, hello, Emily!" She said, "Isn't the snow lovely?" Emily laughed.

"You certainly get excited around this time of year, Marion!" She said. Marion's excitement turned to sadness.

"Well, I have to. Considering I've never seen Christmas. After the last loads of clay leave the pits, they shut me in a shed all winter." Marion sighed. Emily felt bad for her friend. However, she got an idea.

"Tell you what, Marion! I have a Christmas present for you!" She said. Marion raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"A present! Oh my! That's exciting! What is it, Emily?" She looked very excited once more. Emily chuckled.

"Well, if I told you before Christmas, it wouldn't be exciting! Just wait and see, Marion. I promise that it will be a great present!" The guard's whistle then blew and Emily rolled away. Marion was bubbling with excitement.

"A present! No one's ever gotten me a present before! I wonder if it will be something big! Or small, even! Ooh, how about..." Marion chattered as she returned to the clay pits. Lucian, sitting at the other station platform, let out a sigh of relief at the silence.

* * *

Timothy, Marion, Bill, and Ben all returned to the Clay Pits at about the same time. An important meeting had been called for all employees of the Sodor China Clay Company. They all rolled in to where the foreman was addressing the workmen.

"To celebrate one of the most successful business years we have ever had, the higher-ups have decided to throw us a little Christmas party down here at the pits. You all can bring food items from your homes, and Timothy will pick up a truck of decorations to help us spruce up the pits." The workers clapped, and the engines shared looks of excitement. It was not very often that they had parties at the Clay Pits.

"Wow! A party! That's exciting, isn't it, Bill and Ben?" Timothy remarked. Bill and Ben, however, glared.

"What makes _you_ so special, Timothy! We've been working here longer than you, and we don't get to pick up any special decorations!" Bill fumed.

"Yeah! Why do you get special treatment?" Ben added. Timothy rolled his eyes.

"I figured as much," he muttered, "Now you two get back to work!" As he rolled away, Bill and Ben grinned at him.

"Ooh, he thinks he can tell us what to do!" Ben smirked.

"But he can't!" Bill finished, and the twins rolled away laughing. Timothy sighed, and headed up to Wellsworth to pick up the truck. However, he didn't notice Bill and Ben following him...

* * *

As Timothy rolled along the snow-covered rails on his way to pick up the truck, Bill and Ben trailed behind. They giggled to themselves, desperately trying to stay quiet. Timothy, however, was too sad to notice them.

"BoCo's right...I just can't control them. I try so hard but they just keep on viewing me as the butt of a joke!" Timothy approached Wellsworth, and saw a snow-covered, but brightly colored van that he assumed was his on a siding. However, he found himself being switched into a shed instead of onto the proper siding. He braked hard, but he bumped into Molly, who was resting.

"Ouch!" Timothy groaned. However, with Timothy distracted, Bill and Ben raced over towards the siding with the decoration truck on it. Molly, shaken by Timothy's sudden arrival, coughed.

"W-why were you c-coming in so f-fast, Tim-m-mothy?" Molly asked. Timothy sighed, unaware that Bill and Ben were stealing his truck across the yard.

"Just distracted, that's all, Molly. Sorry to wake you up." Timothy then began to back away. However, Bill and Ben were scampering away with the special van. Timothy saw that the siding was bare, and gasped.

"Where's the truck?" He asked, alarmed. He suddenly heard a pair of whistles and saw Bill and Ben puffing away, with the van between them.

"Catch us if you can, Timothy!" Bill chortled, and they raced away. Timothy whistled and began to frantically reverse back towards the main line.

"Get back here, you two!" He cried, but the points were set against him! He came off the rails and slid into the station car park before falling onto his side into the snow.

"Ow." Timothy groaned. Bill and Ben rolled away laughing.

* * *

Emily puffed into Knapford, looking for the Fat Controller. She saw Edward at the platform closest to his office, and rolled towards him.

"Edward, have you seen the Fat Controller?" She asked.

"Sorry, Emily. I haven't seen him all day. He's very busy around this time of year." Suddenly, however, the Fat Controller walked out of his office, with a five-pound note in his hands.

"All this hard work has really worked me up for a good sticky bun..." He said to himself, and began walking to M.C. BUNN.

"Sir! Sir!" Emily called out. The Fat Controller was startled, and tripped over his own feet. He stopped himself from falling and brushed himself off.

"Yes-yes, Emily?" He asked shakily, clearly surprised.

"Can I ask you for a Christmas present for Marion? She's never gotten one, sir, and I don't think she likes being stuck in a shed all winter." The Fat Controller smiled.

"That's very kind of you, Emily. What did you have in mind?" Emily looked around, before speaking in a hushed voice.

"I was wondering if we could let Marion pull a few trains over the winter, sir. She's a really useful shovel, and I'm sure many enthusiasts would like the idea of a 'steam shovel special' until the spring!" However, Emily was disappointed to see the Fat Controller's face fall.

"I'm sorry, Emily. There's no room for anything like that on the timetable. We're very busy this time of year, and we just haven't time for it. I'm sure we can find another way to make Marion happy, but it'll take a real Christmas miracle for that to happen." Emily sighed.

"Yes, sir." She looked downcast. The Fat Controller felt sorry for her, but he continued walking to buy his sticky bun. Emily then puffed away. She was miserable.

* * *

Harvey arrived to rescue Timothy from his snowy accident. Bill and Ben were long gone.

"You're lucky you landed in the snow, Timothy. Otherwise you may have been damaged." Harvey remarked. Timothy shivered.

"Then w-why do I f-f-feel so c-c-cold?" He shivered.

"You just need to get a good fire going. You'll be fine, Timothy." Harvey chuckled awkwardly. He let Timothy down on the rails, and the exhausted oil-burner let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a familiar horn sounded out, and BoCo rumbled in to the station with several trucks. Timothy groaned. BoCo was startled by the rescue operation.

"Timothy? What's going on?" He asked, alarmed.

"I came off the rails chasing after..." Timothy's eyes widened, "Oh no! Bill and Ben!"

"What about Bill and Ben?" BoCo said sharply.

"They've got the truck of decorations for the clay pits!" Timothy replied. Molly and Harvey shared a look of concern.

"Where are they now?" BoCo asked. Timothy sighed.

"I don't know! They ran away!" He said. BoCo looked stern.

"Timothy! I'll find them, but after this, you and I need to have a severe word about this!" He honked his horn after the signal dropped and continued along his way, leaving a miserable Timothy behind. Molly smiled warmly at him.

"D-don't worry, T-timothy. If it h-helps, you c-can stay in m-my sh-shed until you're w-warmer." She offered. Timothy smiled at her.

"Thank you, Molly." He said, but deep down he still felt upset.

* * *

Meanwhile, however, Bill and Ben were having the time of their lives with their special van.

"I love this time of year!" Ben remarked as they rolled along the main line.

"Especially when we've got a new plaything!" Bill added, and the two cackled.

 _I'm dreaming of a white Christmas_

 _just like the ones I used to know_

Bill and Ben shunted their special van around the yards, laughing the whole way. Ben shunted it right across James' line at some points. James was trying to roll through the yard with a goods train.

"Hey!" James shouted indignantly, but Bill and Ben just laughed at him.

 _Where the tree tops glisten_

 _And children listen_

 _To hear sleigh bells in the snow_

Scruff was rolling along the main line with several heavy rubbish trucks when Bill and Ben sped past, spraying snow all over him. Scruff spat out the snow in disgust, but Bill and Ben didn't care, they just kept on speeding onwards.

 _I'm dreaming of a white Christmas_

 _With every Christmas card I write_

Oliver was taking on water at a water tower when he was shocked to see the brightly-colored van flying straight towards him. He shut his eyes, and the van banged into him. His eyes spun around as he heard Bill and Ben's laughing as the two came back, coupled up to the van, and scampered away.

 _May those days, may your days, may your days, be merry and bright_

 _And may all your Christmases be white_

Ben spun around slowly on the turntable, looking lovingly at the van in front of him. He grinned and began to puff closer to it. He puckered up his lips as to kiss the van as the music became slower.

 _Jingle Bells all the way, all the way, ooh_

Bill coupled behind it and scampered away, leaving Ben to chase after him and it as the two sped away laughing.

* * *

Back at the Clay Pits, Marion didn't have the foggiest idea as to what was going on.

"Bill? Ben? Timothy? Where is everyone?" She called, as she bumped into a line of trucks in front of her. She looked around, and saw that none of the three were anywhere near. She sighed.

"Oh well. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!" She remarked, and buffered up to the trucks, and began pushing them towards the docks.

Along her way, Marion began thinking about Emily's present for her again.

"I really wonder what she could have gotten me...I don't really express things that I want, do I? That seems awfully rude..." Marion chattered as she entered the docks. Porter was shunting trucks nearby, and heard her talking. He puffed over to her.

"Something wrong, Marion? Where's Timothy? Wasn't he supposed to be bringing this load?" Porter asked.

"I haven't seen Timothy, Bill, or Ben since this morning, Porter. And I'm so distraught because Emily is getting me a Christmas present and I don't know what it is!" Marion replied. Porter chuckled.

"Why does it matter what the present is?" Marion was baffled.

"Pardon?"

"Why does it matter what the present is?" Porter repeated, smiling.

"What do you mean, why-"

"Just think about it, Marion. If someone cares about you, and is willing to get you a present, isn't the fact that they care about you enough of a present?" Marion pondered for a moment.

"You're right!" She gasped, "Emily cares about me! And I guess, who could need more than good friends around the holiday season! It's certainly wonderful-" Marion continued chattering, causing Porter to chuckle. Suddenly, Emily's whistle rang out through the docks, and the downtrodden Stirling Single rolled in with some trucks. Marion whistled excitedly.

"Emily! Emily!" She called, and rolled over towards her. Emily looked up.

"Yes, Marion?" She asked, miserable. Marion, however was bursting at the seams with excitement.

"I just want you to know that I don't care what present you get me! As long as you care about me enough to get me a present, that's fine by me. Merry Christmas, Emily! Haha!" Marion chortled away, leaving Emily to sadly smile. As Marion disappeared to return to the clay pits, Porter rolled alongside Emily, who was looking down at her buffers.

"You alright, Emily?" He asked. Emily looked to him.

"I'm fine," she muttered, "Just hoping for a real Christmas miracle..."

* * *

Back at Wellsworth, Timothy was still drying off and feeling rather upset.

"I've let BoCo down again...Maybe he's right, maybe I am just not cut out to keep Bill and Ben in line..." Suddenly, however, he heard a whistle, and Edward rolled into the platform with some coaches.

"Hello, Timothy! What brings you up here?" The blue engine peeped cheerfully. Timothy sighed.

"Edward, sometimes I feel like I'm just not cut out to keep Bill and Ben under control, you know? One word from BoCo or you, and Bill and Ben are sent running for the hills! And I can't even get them to do their work, never mind not play tricks!" Timothy sighed. Edward smiled.

"Don't worry, Timothy. A long time ago, BoCo couldn't really control the twins either. It takes a lot of time to learn how to keep Bill and Ben in order, and you just haven't had enough time. BoCo knows you're trying, he can just get easily frustrated." Edward chuckled.

"I guess you're right, Edward. I just wish that I could show BoCo I can handle them." Edward chuckled.

"Every engine has his day, Timothy. Who knows, a real miracle may happen! It is, after all, Christmas!" His guard's whistle blew and Edward puffed away. Timothy chuckled.

* * *

Timothy was just getting working again when Stafford the Electric Engine arrived.

"Hey, Timothy. Have you seen a truck of fireworks anywhere?" He asked. Timothy raised an eyebrow.

"I can't say that I have. What does it look like?" He replied.

"It's a four-wheeled van, brightly colored, it might be covered in snow; it _has_ been here for a few days..." Stafford remarked. Timothy was surprised.

"I actually have seen a van like that..." He began, but was interrupted by Molly's whistle.

"Was th-this s-supposed to b-be your's, T-timothy?" She asked, with a truck filled with decorations in front of her. Timothy was shocked.

"Hold on. If this is supposed to be my truck, then what did Bill and Ben take?" He said. His eyes widened once he realized what had happened.

"Oh no! They must have taken the fireworks! They're in danger!" Timothy blew his whistle, and Molly and Stafford were alarmed as Timothy began to steam away.

"T-Timothy! What ab-bout your d-decor-rations?" Molly called.

"Stafford, you need to take them! I have to save Bill and Ben!" Timothy charged out onto the main line, leaving Molly and Stafford behind.

* * *

Bill and Ben were banging their brightly-colored van around the yard. They had begun to grow bored.

"Any other ideas of what we could do with this, Ben?" Bill asked. Ben sighed.

"We could bump into the trucks with it again. Give them a little Christmas spirit?" He suggested. Before Bill could respond, they heard a horn and saw BoCo sternly rolling into the yard. They shared a frightened glance.

"Uh oh." They said. BoCo rolled up to them. He glared sharply.

"What have you two been up to?" He snapped. Bill and Ben looked at each other before whistling.

"Scram!" They shouted, and they raced all over the yard, with Bill pushing the van. Bill raced around a siding, before coming full circle and sharply ramming into BoCo, causing him to stop. The big diesel coughed.

"Ouch!" He said. Smoke and sparks began to emit from his engine, but BoCo himself was too upset to notice. Some of the snow on the van fell off, exposing some of the text on it. Before Bill and Ben could read it however, BoCo shouted at them.

"Do you two think it's funny, racing around the railway and causing trouble?" He snapped.

"A little." Bill put in, and Ben chuckled nervously. BoCo frowned.

"I want you two to clean up every bit of damage you've done today. I'm going to take your truck to the clay pits. You're lucky that I don't tell the Fat Controller to lock you two in the sheds!" He backed down onto the truck, finally giving Bill and Ben a chance to read it.

"Wellsworth Fireworks Company, Ltd.. Warning: Highly Explosive..." Bill read. Ben's eyes widened.

"HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE!" He cried. BoCo began rolling away as he sparked left and right. Bill and Ben whistled urgently.

"BoCo! Stop! Stop!" They cried. BoCo rolled his eyes.

"I'm not falling for that! You two have done enough damage!" He honked his horn and rolled away, coughing and sparking. As BoCo disappeared, Timothy entered the yard.

"Bill! Ben! Where's the van?" He shouted. Bill and Ben cringed.

"BoCo took it, but he's in danger!" Ben gasped.

"That van wasn't decorations, it was fireworks! BoCo's engine is sparking, and he could set the fireworks alight!" Bill added.

"I know!" Timothy cried, "We have to stop him!"

"What do we do?" Bill asked.

"Panic!" Ben replied, and the two promptly began screaming and running back and forth along the line. However, a loud whistle sounded out and the two braked to a halt.

"Huh?" They asked. The source of the whistle was a stern-looking Timothy, with a fire in his eyes.

"Stop running about and screaming! We have to stop BoCo, this is no time to panic! Bill, Ben, you try to catch up with him, you're faster than me. I'll see if I can put up flags to stop him! Now go!" Timothy whistled, with Bill and Ben nervously whistling behind him, and the three raced off to save their friend.

* * *

Trevor was still hard at work in the Vicarage Orchard when he saw BoCo roll by. Sparks flew from the diesel's engine, and the traction engine was alarmed.

"Are you alright, BoCo?" He called, but BoCo continued on.

"Frustrated, Trevor." BoCo honked his horn, and coughed once more. Sparks flew from his engine, and they began catching onto the fireworks van. Trevor knew something was wrong.

"BoCo!" Trevor cried, but BoCo was too far away. The distraught traction engine heard three whistles, and Timothy, Bill, and Ben came racing down the branch line. Bill and Ben sped ahead, as Timothy rolled along behind.

* * *

Bill and Ben saw BoCo up ahead, a trail of smoke rising from his van.

"BoCo! Stop!" Bill cried.

"Those aren't decorations! They're fireworks!" Ben added. BoCo rolled his eyes.

"Don't you ever learn?" He said, and he sped up. Bill and Ben shared worried glances.

"It's up to Timothy now." Bill said. Ben grit his teeth nervously.

* * *

Timothy raced along behind them, and switched onto a shortcut. He ended up nearby the junction close to Brendam Docks. He was about to slow down and put down flags, but he heard the rumbling of BoCo's engine.

"I don't have time to stop! I have to keep going and try to cut him off!" Timothy sped up and surged onwards towards the junction. BoCo began rolling across the points when he heard Timothy's whistle.

"What the-" he coughed, and he rolled over the points. Timothy gasped as he rammed into BoCo's flaming van of fireworks, and along with it, barreled off the rails and into the snow. The flames fizzled out with a loud "SSS", and BoCo braked to a stop.

"Timothy? What on earth...?" He said. Bill and Ben arrived.

"Timothy just saved your hide, BoCo!" Ben announced. Bill shushed him.

"I think we need to focus more on saving his, Ben." He pointed out. Timothy, dented and damaged, was lying in his side in the snow next to the smoking fireworks van, groaning in pain. BoCo honked his horn.

"I'll go to the Search and Rescue Center. You two put up flags and make sure Timothy is alright." The big diesel tried to leave, but his engine sparked and he rolled to a stop.

"I guess we'll do it!" Ben chuckled, and the twins raced away to get help.

* * *

Timothy was rescued by the Search and Rescue team, and Bill and Ben brought Rocky, who lifted the little oil-burner onto a flatbed.

"Easy does it, Timothy!" Rocky called, as the nearby Belle and Flynn soaked down the fireworks van. Bill and Ben shared looks of guilt as the aching Timothy was placed onto the flatbed. Ben shunted BoCo behind the flatbed, and Bill was put at the front, and the cavalcade began to make their way to the Steamworks.

* * *

At the Steamworks, Timothy was hoisted into the air as Victor began to look at his undercarriage.

"You did quite a number on your chassis, my friend." Victor remarked. BoCo cleared his throat.

"The damage would have been much worse if he hadn't stepped in. I could have been blown to smithereens!" The big diesel smiled at the damaged engine, who smiled back.

"No problem, BoCo. Someone had to help out, since Bill and Ben weren't slowing you down." The three engines in the Steamworks then looked to the twins, who were looking awfully sheepish. BoCo was about to speak, but Timothy cut him off.

"Don't you two have something to say?" He asked. Bill and Ben turned red with shame.

"Sorry, BoCo..." They forced out. BoCo was surprised by Timothy's initiative.

"Huh." He muttered. However, the Fat Controller arrived then, causing Bill and Ben to share a worried glance.

"Uh oh." They muttered. The Fat Controller, however, was focused on Timothy.

"Timothy, I've been told that you stopped an explosion today." He smiled at the oil-burner, causing the little engine to chuckle.

"I guess I did, didn't I?" He said.

"Well, it was very brave of you, Timothy. You were willing to do anything to prevent a crisis, and for that you are a really useful engine." Timothy smiled. As the Fat Controller gave his speech, Bill and Ben tried to silently sneak out of the Steamworks. However, the Fat Controller turned on his heel and pointed to the twins.

"As for _you two,_ " He boomed, "I've been receiving reports all day of accidents caused by you. I am very disappointed in you." Bill and Ben grinned awkwardly.

"Sorry, sir." They said.

"As punishment, I am officially shutting you two in the sheds for the winter. Should save money that we can spend repairing Timothy." Bill and Ben were horrified, but Timothy cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir? I think that's a tad harsh. I know Bill and Ben caused a lot of trouble, but it is Christmas, and I'm sure that they've learned from their mistake. Haven't you?" Timothy looked to the twins.

"Oh yes!"

"Certainly, Timothy!"

"We've learned!" The twins grinned at the Fat Controller, who thought for a moment and sighed.

"Very well, Timothy. However, this does not mean you are off the hook, Bill and Ben. Rubbish-collection duties for the both of you. You're on thin ice. Now get back to work." He then walked away, leaving Bill and Ben to grin thankfully at Timothy.

"Yes, sir!" They called, before rolling away. Timothy chuckled.

"There's certainly something about those two, isn't there?" He remarked.

"They can be quite maddening." BoCo smiled back, the two finally reaching kinship.

* * *

The Fat Controller, however, still had a few issues to resolve.

"Oh bother...if this goes here, and I send him here...bother." He muttered, as he sat on a bench sorting timetables in Knapford. Emily arrived, and overheard him.

"Excuse me, sir. Is something wrong?" She asked. The Fat Controller sighed.

"Timothy requires serious repairs, so I need someone else to do his jobs for the time being." He said. Emily's face lit up.

"I could do Timothy's jobs, sir!" She grinned. The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow.

"Then who would do yours?" He asked. Emily chuckled back and told him.

* * *

Down at the Clay Pits, Marion still was wondering where everyone was. Stafford had arrived with the decorations, rather than Timothy, and the party had begun.

"Where is everyone, Stafford?" She asked.

"Didn't you hear? Timothy had an accident, and now he's trying to find Bill and Ben!" He said. Suddenly, however, Marion and Stafford heard Emily's whistle, and the Sterling Single rolled into the clay pits. She had a wide grin.

"I have your Christmas present, Marion!" She beamed.

"Oh wonderful, Emily!" Marion cheered, before changing to a confused expression, "What is it?"

"I am going to do Timothy's work until he is repaired, so you are going to do mine! That means that you'll be pulling passengers! Merry Christmas, Marion!" Emily smiled at her friend. Marion's face lit up.

"Passengers! Wow, thank you, Emily!" Marion whistled, causing Emily to smile.

* * *

Marion loved her passenger work, and with a flatbed coupled behind to allow for room, she soon got the handle of pulling coaches. The passengers were very excited about a steam shovel pulling their trains, and Marion's trains were very successful.

"Merry Christmas!" She peeped as she passed some schoolchildren on a bridge. Bill and Ben, meanwhile, served out their rubbish collection term, and vowed to be better-behaved engines.

"With vigor, you two!" Whiff called, as Bill and Ben rolled past with some trucks of rubbish. Timothy was in repair throughout the entire winter, but he didn't mind. He knew he could come back to a new dynamic that he was looking forward to exploring. It was a good Christmas for the engines of the China Clay Works.

" _We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year!_ " Marion sang as she rolled past Emily. Emily laughed, and Marion winked as she rolled off into the Christmas night.

 **THE END**

* * *

Forget _Top of the Class,_ this is my longest episode yet! Much like the shorter, simpler _Close Encounters of the Toad Kind,_ which was earlier this week, _A China Clay Christmas_ has been divided into different sections, which all come together at the end. I will be going over them one by one at this point:

\- _Timothy's Thrilling Christmas_ (Timothy's part of the story) - The dynamic between Timothy and BoCo is something I wanted to explore the moment I brought BoCo back. Seeing Timothy pine for BoCo's respect is something I think would add more to Timothy's character, as he usually is pretty self-confident otherwise. Timothy being brave in the end was always my end goal, and I think I wrote him well.

\- _Painting the Town White_ (Bill and Ben's part of the story) - The main part of this story is the _White Christmas_ segment, which was something I thought would really spice up the story. This version of _White Christmas_ is an abridged version of the famous Drifters arrangement, which is really accompaniment for Bill and Ben being jerks.

\- _A Present for Marion_ (Marion/Emily's part of the story) - Marion and Emily are both fun characters, who I sadly am not very good at writing. Hopefully I did them justice though, as I like them both a lot. Marion annoying Lucian at the beginning was an interaction I've wanted to do since _Duck Season,_ and provides Lucian another dynamic in prep for his supporting role in _Rampage of the Rail Bandits._

Leave a review to tell me what you thought, and come back in tomorrow for the season finale, _Gordon & Bear, _and Sunday for a special surprise! What could it be? Wait and see...


	26. SS6 - Gordon & Bear

**GORDON & BEAR**

One of the most important trains on the Fat Controller's railway is the Wild Nor Wester, Gordon's express. It travels from the big station to Vicarstown and back several times throughout the day, and it helps passengers get to the Mainland quickly. Gordon is very proud of the fact that he pulls this train, and he can occasionally get protective when other engines have to pull it. One evening, Gordon returned to Knapford with the last express of the day.

"No one can pull the express as well as I can!" He boasted to Philip as the little boxcab took his coaches away.

"Of course, big engine-I mean, Gordon! You're so strong, and fast!" Philip gushed. Gordon grinned smugly.

"I know." He whistled, and began to head back towards Tidmouth. However, as he left the station, he felt a sharp pain in his undercarriage.

"Ouch!" Gordon came to a stop. Philip gasped and bumped into Gordon's empty coaches.

"Gordon! Are you alright!" He asked with concern. Gordon swallowed the pain.

"I'm fine. Just fine." With considerably less confidence, Gordon began limping home to Tidmouth Sheds. Philip watched with concern.

* * *

Gordon came home to the sheds later than usual, and as a result went to sleep rather late. When he had to wake up to take his express the following morning, he was rather tired and limped solemnly to the station. When he arrived however, he was surprised to see Henry at the head of the express.

"Morning, Gordon!" Henry whistled cheerfully. Gordon was astonished!

"Henry, what are you doing with _my_ express?" He demanded. At that moment, the Fat Controller arrived.

"Henry is going to be pulling your express today, Gordon." He explained.

"I can see that, sir." Gordon snapped, "But _why_ is he pulling it?"

"I've been receiving reports that you've had a lot of wear and tear recently. And, with my plans to add faster, more frequent services to your schedule, I figured it was time for you to receive an _overhaul_." Gordon was fuming!

"Who will pull my express while I'm gallivanting off at the Steamworks? And, as much as I hate to admit it, there's only so fast I can go, sir! How am I supposed to manage more than I already have?" The Fat Controller held up his hand and Gordon quieted down.

"When you return Gordon, you will be sharing your express duties with...another engine." Gordon's jaw dropped.

"SHARING _MY_ EXPRESS!?" He boomed, "Out of the question, sir! No one else is worthy enough to pull such a prestigious train as the Wild Nor Wester!" The Fat Controller silenced him again.

"I've found an engine who is _rather_ worthy, I assure you. However, he is going to have some modifications installed to prepare him for express duties. Up until those are complete, I am putting you on stopping services while Henry pulls the express. Now no complaining, and be really useful!" Before Gordon could respond, the Fat Controller strode away. The guard's whistle blew and Henry began to leave.

"Bye, Gordon! Have fun with my local!" He chortled, leaving Gordon seething.

* * *

Over the next few days, Gordon grumbled furiously. His stopping services were easy enough, but the other engines made it hard for him to contain his anger.

"Stoppin' to smell the roses, Gordon?" Donald teased as he rumbled by with a goods train. Gordon gnashed his teeth.

"Stupid Henry, stupid Fat Controller..." He grumbled furiously. When he saw Douglas, he didn't make things any easier.

"Nice and easy, Gordon! Nae need to rush!" The other Caledonian chortled from the water tower as Gordon grumbled by. Finally, Gordon began to approach Vicarstown station.

"Finally." He muttered, but he saw a red signal and braked to a halt.

"Stupid signal." He began to doze off, but was started by a loud horn and a growling noise, and a blue blur sped across the junction. Dust flew everywhere as Gordon coughed, and the figure sped onwards. Gordon scowled before calling out.

"Mind the dust, Bear!" He shouted. The Rail Blue Hymek looked sheepish as he continued pulling his trucks into the station.

"Sorry, Gordon!" Bear called back. He was switched onto the line heading up to the Dieselworks, leaving Gordon to roll his eyes and grumble.

* * *

At the Dieselworks, Den and Dart were waiting for an important load of machine parts. They heard a loud growling noise and Bear rolled in with several flatbeds. The two diesels grinned.

"Excellent, Bear!" Den smiled.

"What 'e means is, thanks for fetching these parts for us! This'll really 'elp with the repairs we need to do!" Dart put in. Bear chuckled.

"It's no problem, guys. I've nothing to do anyway." Upon finishing his last sentence, Bear sighed. He honked his horn and solemnly rolled into a shed to get refueled. Den and Dart shared a concerned glance before rolling over to Bear.

"You alright, erm, Bear?" Den asked. Bear sighed.

"Ever since the Fat Controller decided to keep me on, I've been doing nothing. I remember exactly how I felt too." And with that, Bear began to remember.

* * *

Several months ago, two diesels had come to Sodor on trial. They had no names, only numbers. One was numbered 199, and he was very full of himself. He boasted of diesel superiority from the night he arrived.

"It's time, 7101, that we took this railway over!" He boasted loudly. A red engine, a green engine, and a pannier tank, the only other engines in the sheds, shared an angry glance. 7101, the other diesel, was quiet, and didn't think of diesels as any better than steam engines. They were all just engines to him. He wanted to keep a low profile, and his companion wasn't helping.

"Quiet, 199! It's their railway after all!" He hushed. However, 199 kept on blabbing.

"Not for long! Steam engines spoil our image!" He insisted. The pannier tank snorted.

"Of course we do! We show what frauds you are! Call yourselves engines? If anything happens, you care nothing for your train! You just moan for a fitter! We bring it home, even if we're only on one cylinder!" He snapped. 199 snorted.

"Nothing _ever_ happens to us! _We_ are _reliable_!" The steam engines began to angrily whistle and shout at this.

"How rude!" 199 commented. However, a loud growling noise silenced the shed. 7101 glared at 199.

"You asked for it! Now shut up!" 199 quieted down, grumbling. 7101 gave an apologetic look to the steam engines, whose glares softened.

* * *

The following day, 7101 had to pull an important train called the "Limited". However, as he left the big station, he hit a bump in the line. He growled loudly, but managed to keep going. However, this had caused his ejector, a pump that draws air out of the brake pipe to keep the brakes off, to begin failing, and he didn't get very far before his coaches began to become heavier and heavier.

"Come on! Come on!" He growled loudly and furiously as he stormed past a signalbox. He hadn't noticed 199 and the green tender engine from the previous night on the other line waiting for him to go by! Finally, his brakes screwed on, and 7101 rolled to a stop, unable to start again.

"GRRRRRRRRR!" His engine growled in frustration, but he couldn't get the brakes off. His driver went back to tell the signalman. A few minutes later, the green tender engine arrived and buffered up behind the train.

"Hey, you at the front there!" The engine called, "I'm connecting to the brake pipe on this end, and that should keep the brakes off! Can you pull?"

"Should be able to!" 7101 called back. The tender engine grinned.

"Right then." He chuckled. Everything was set in motion. 7101 honked his horn.

"You ready?" 7101 called back.

"Yes, I am!" And with that, 7101 began to pull, with the green tender engine in the middle, and the long cavalcade set out towards the next big station.

* * *

When they arrived, a black Caledonian engine with the number "9" painted on his tender and a silver streamlined engine were waiting. 7101 saw the Fat Controller and looked sheepishly away. However, he was more angry at 199 than anything, and said several things 7101 didn't get to hear. The black engine hauled 199, kicking and screaming, away, and the green engine uncoupled 7101 from the train to take him to the Dieselworks. The silver streamlined engine backed down on the train and continued the journey, the passengers being quite impressed with him. On their way to the works, 7101 spoke up.

"I'm sorry about last night." He ventured. The big green engine chuckled.

"That's alright. You did try to shut 'Old Reliable' up!" 7101 sighed.

"And made a fool of myself today too..."

"Nonsense! A failed ejector might happen to anyone! I'd lost my regulator!" 7101's jaw dropped.

"You... _failed!?_ " He exclaimed, "And yet...?" His voice trailed off in admiration.

"Trains must get through, you know!" The big engine said, "I'm Henry, by the way." Before 7101 could respond, his engine growled loudly. He cringed.

"Sorry, Henry. It does that sometimes. I don't have a name, just a number." Henry laughed.

"From the sound of your engine, I'd think you were a bear!" 7101 thought about it for a moment.

"Bear...I like that..."

* * *

"Since then, I've been doing nothing but hanging around the Dieselworks waiting for work. I'm glad to have a second chance and all, but I wish I could have some excitement!" However, at that moment, Bear, Den, and Dart heard a horn.

"That's Winston and the Fat Controller!" Dart remarked. Sure enough, the little inspection car and the railway's controller rolled into the Dieselworks, and came to a stop nearby the trio.

"Bear! I have very good news for you!" The Fat Controller announced as he stepped out of Winston. Bear raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, sir?" He asked. The Fat Controller grinned.

"I have found a job for you!" Bear's eyes nearly popped out in surprise!

"You have, sir? What is it? When can I get started?" The Fat Controller held his hand and Bear quieted down.

"That's a surprise. First, however, you are going to be repainted for these new duties." He handed the workmen a set of papers with various color labelers. Bear was impressed, but still confused.

"What job could I need a new livery for, sir?" However, the Fat Controller climbed aboard Winston and was leaving. Den chuckled.

"Don't worry, Bear. I'm sure, uhm, well, what I mean is-"

"What he means is, the Fat Controller is sure to have a plan. He always does. Now come on!" Bear rolled out of his small shed into the bigger main one, and everyone got to work. As the Fat Controller and Winston left the Dieselworks, the little inspection car looked up.

"I don't think Gordon's going to be very happy when he finds out who his second express engine is, sir." He remarked.

"I know, Winston. But he'll have to learn to be." The Fat Controller replied.

* * *

The following day, Gordon rolled into Knapford as usual to pick up Henry's stopping service when, to his surprise, there was no one at the head of the express.

"What the..." He muttered, but he saw the Fat Controller on the platform and quieted himself. The Fat Controller saw Gordon and smiled.

"Ah, Gordon! Your second express engine should be here any moment!" He said. Gordon scowled. However, a loud whistle sounded out and Spencer rolled into Knapford. Gordon gasped.

"Spencer! No!" He shouted.

"I was expecting a warmer welcome!" Spencer mused. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Not Spencer, Gordon! Your second express engine isn't here yet!" Gordon let out a sigh of relief.

"Why are you here then, Spencer?" He asked. Spencer scoffed.

"The Duke and Duchess have an important meeting to attend at Vicarstown, and forget to call so I could have a path. So they are traveling on your express." He grumbled.

"So they finally realized which engine knows when to take on water?" Gordon chortled. Before Spencer could respond, a loud horn sounded out that interrupted them both.

"Here he comes now!" The Fat Controller announced. Gordon's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"No way..." Rolling in front of Gordon's coaches was a diesel he didn't recognize. He had dark green paint, with a narrow band of lime around the bottom. He had cream window surrounds, yellow warning panels, and his number written in white. Once Gordon read the number, he was astonished!

"D7101... _BEAR!?_ " Sure enough, it was Bear, in brand new livery, sitting at the front of the express coaches. The Fat Controller walked over to Bear.

"Bear, your new job is going to be sharing express duties with Gordon." Both Bear and Gordon were shocked, but for very different reasons.

"A _diesel_! Pulling _my_ express!" Gordon fumed quietly. Spencer heard him and smirked. Bear, however, was overjoyed.

"You trust me that much, sir?" He asked.

"Henry put in a great word for you. Plus, you did a fine job with the 'Limited' even _if_ your ejector failed. Just don't let me down today, eh?" Bear grinned determinedly.

"I won't, sir!" His engine growled with excitement. The Fat Controller, Gordon, Spencer, a nearby Philip, and all the passengers in the station cringed from the loud noise. Bear blushed.

"Sorry, everyone!" He called. The Fat Controller straightened his tie and continued speaking.

"You will be double-heading a few services with Gordon today to give you an idea of the route before Gordon heads off for his overhaul." He explained. Gordon glared.

"Yes, sir!" Bear grinned excitedly. The Fat Controller then climbed aboard one of the coaches, and the Duke and Duchess boarded the train as well. Gordon backed down onto the coaches, and Bear backed down onto Gordon. Spencer called out from his side of the station.

"Show the Duke and Duchess a good time, you two! If you two mess it up, they may never ride a public train again!" This warning gave Gordon an idea. He smirked with a sinister air.

"Oh, we will." Gordon chuckled, "We will indeed." The guard's whistle blew and the cavalcade began to leave the station.

"I refuse to let a diesel pull my express if it's the last thing I do...I'll make the Fat Controller regret even considering replacing me..." He muttered.

"You say something, Gordon?" Bear asked. Gordon cleared his throat.

"No, Bear, I didn't. Come on, we can't be late!" The train then began to roll off towards the main line.

* * *

Bear loved speeding along the line with the express. The wind whipped across his frames, and he loved watching the countryside fly by. He passed Sidney working with the maintenance crew and honked cheerfully.

"Hey Sidney! Lovely day, isn't it?" He called cheerfully. Sidney looked at him.

"Oh, hi, Boar!" He honked cheerfully, as the express flew by. However, he was rather confused.

"I could have sworn he was blue..." He muttered. Gordon, however, was focusing on keeping pace in preparation for his plan.

"Come on, come on, come on!" He chanted. However, he was beginning to go so fast that some of his parts were rattling. They approached their first stop: Wellsworth. They braked to a halt, and a whistle sounded out.

"H-hey, B-bear!" Molly peeped as she rolled over towards them after stopping her shunting, "I h-hardly rec-cognized you with that new p-paintwork!" Bear chuckled. Gordon scowled.

"Thanks, Molly." Bear smiled.

"D-do you t-two want a p-p-push up the h-hill?" Molly asked. Before Bear could respond, Gordon cleared his throat.

"No thank you, Molly. Two engines should be _more_ than enough." He said sharply. Bear was surprised.

"You sure, Gordon? Even with the Duke and Duchess on board?" He whispered. Gordon smirked, although Bear couldn't see it.

"Yes, Bear. I'm positive." He whistled, "Now come on." The guard's whistle blew, and Gordon, and a very nervous Bear, started off towards the hill.

* * *

As the duo began to climb the hill, Gordon put his plan into action. He slowly began to ease off steam, and Bear felt the coaches getting heavier and heavier.

"What's happening back there?" He panted. Gordon smirked.

"I have no idea!" He called forward with a wide smile. Bear's wheels began to slip at the increased weight, but he wasn't nearly getting the brunt of it. Unbeknownst to Gordon, the bolts in his rear coupling hook had rattled loose after constant abuse, and it was currently bearing the weight of the entire train. Bear growled loudly, his wheels spinning and spinning.

"Come on!" He cried. However, a loud "SNAP" sounded out and the entire load got lighter. Both Bear and Gordon knew what that meant. Gordon gasped in horror upon realizing what he had done, and Bear cried out.

"Oh no!" The long express began to roll gently down the hill, picking up speed. However, several passengers pulled the emergency cables in their coaches, and combined with the guard applying the brakes, the train rolled to a stop. The front coupling of the first coach hung down onto the line, with Gordon's coupling hook sitting in the ballast. Bear and Gordon reversed back down to the coaches. Bear growled in anguish.

"Of all the things that could happen! How'd that happen?" Gordon remained silent. He was regretting his choice to sabotage the train...

* * *

Both crews managed to lift the heavy coupling hook up, and placed it in Gordon's cab. Carefully, the two engines pushed the coaches back to the Wellsworth, where Molly was surprised to see them.

"Is everything alr-r-right?" She asked. Bear sighed.

"The coaches pulled Gordon's rear coupling hook off." He said. However, the Fat Controller walked down the platform.

"More like Gordon pulled _his own_ coupling hook off." He put in, glaring sharply at the ashamed Gordon, "I thought you were beyond sabotage, Gordon." Gordon looked ashamed.

"Sabotage?" Bear said, shocked. Gordon sighed.

"Yes, sabotage. I didn't want you to pull a successful express." He forced out.

"But why?" Bear asked.

"Ever since I arrived, pulling the express has been my job. It just doesn't feel right to have another engine pulling it as often as I do." The Fat Controller cleared his throat.

"I guess what he's saying is that he feels that his job defines him, Bear. And I think Gordon needs to learn that it is not our duties that define us. It is how we go about doing them." He looked at Gordon.

"Yes, that, sir." Suddenly, however, the Duke of Boxford came running down the platform, with his wife calmly walking behind.

"Sir Topham, we must get going! I cannot miss my important meeting!" The Duke said, tapping his watch frantically. His wife began massaging his shoulders.

"Easy does it, dear. We'll get there in time." At this, Bear growled determinedly, startling everyone on the platform.

"Yes, we will." He looked back to Gordon, "Gordon, I know that you don't think I deserve the pull your express. Let me prove you wrong." Gordon's face assumed a serious expression, and he whistled in affirmation. He moved out of the way, and Bear backed down onto the coaches. He was coupled up and the passengers climbed aboard. He looked to Molly.

"Can I have a push, Molly?" He asked. The yellow engine whistled.

"Um, sure, B-bear." She stuttered, and rolled around the train. They soon enough started off, leaving Gordon to pensively watch.

* * *

Bear and Molly approached the hill and began to climb it. Bear's wheels gripped furiously, and his engine growled loudly. With Molly's help, he finally managed to roll over the hill, and he began speeding up to try and make up for lost time. Molly watched as he sped down the hill.

"G-good l-luck!" She called. Bear didn't need telling twice. His engine growled furiously as he sped down the line, desperately trying to make up for lost time.

"Come on! Come on! GRRRRR!" He sped through Maron, now only eight minutes behind rather than fifteen. At the other platform, he saw Henry. The green engine grinned encouragingly at him, and winked.

"Good luck!" He whistled. Bear honked back, and they continued on. Bear continued rolling along the main line, honking at every engine he saw. Finally, he saw Vicarstown, and rolled into the station right on schedule. His passengers disembarked, and the Duchess of Boxford walked over to him.

"Thank you." She simply said, and Bear smiled as she strode away.

* * *

Bear ran services back and forth alone for the rest of the day, while Gordon limped solemnly to the Steamworks to have his coupling hook repaired and begin his overhaul. He had thought a lot about what the Fat Controller had said, and wanted to apologize to Bear. When the final express service was completed, Gordon was surprised to see Bear rolling into the Steamworks.

"Bear? What are you doing here?" He asked from the lift. Bear looked up at him.

"Just wanted to check on you and make sure you were alright. Sorry that you're kind of stuck with me in terms of express duties..." He said. Gordon smirked.

"Bear, if there's anything today has taught me, it's that there is no more worthy engine to pull my express alongside me than you. Sorry for trying to sabotage the train. I guess I let my pride get the better of me. When my overhaul's done, I can't wait to manage services with you. Now don't let me down, alright?" Bear grinned at Gordon.

"Don't worry, I won't!" However, his engine growled loudly, and Victor and Kevin jolted awake. Bear cringed.

"Sorry!" He whispered.

"Goodnight, Bear." Gordon chuckled.

"Goodnight, Gordon." And with that, Bear left the Steamworks. Gordon watched him go, as the Fat Controller's words buzzed in his head.

 _"It is not our duties that define us. It is how we go about doing them."_ A small tear fell from Gordon's eye as he smiled.

 **THE END**

* * *

And that was the first season of my original episodes. Hard to believe we've come this far, huh? As some more avid readers may have noticed, as of this story, every character rendered in CGI up to this point (minus The Logging Locos, for obvious reasons, and Jerome & Judy, as the story I want to write about them has not been set up yet) has spoken in these episodes, plus even more. I think Bear (as well as fellow new RWS character for this season, Frank) should be top priority for the team to reintroduce right now, as they both could have really cool personalities. Bear is an engine who wants to keep a low profile, but his growling and the crowd he falls in with prevent him from really achieving that. However, his duties as a fellow express engine are sure to make him blossom a bit. I don't use Spencer that often, so I think that using him to set up the Duke & Duchess in this story was a good role for him and provided some decent Gordon banter. Don't worry though, Spencer fans, as Spencer has a lead role planned for next season!...as the season finale. Speaking of next season, it is pretty much planned out, but I'd like to hear your ideas! (and yes, tate310, the flour story is among them) This season will premiere most likely when I'm not burnt out from writing the monster of a project _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ is turning out to be. Speaking of _Rampage of the Rail Bandits,_ come back tomorrow for a special surprise concerning it!


	27. SS Rampage of the Rail Bandits Trailer

THIS SUMMER...

 _"Sir Bertram Topham Hatt, you are under arrest!" The detective cuffed the Fat Controller, who simply spluttered to get words out._

SODOR IS IN THE GRAVEST DANGER IT HAS EVER BEEN...

 _"The Rail Bandits are only the most notorious criminals on the Mainland! They strike by night, ransacking any train in their path!" Caitlin explained. Thomas listened on with interest._

 _The silhouette of a camelback engine pulling a boxcar rolled past in the moonlight._

FRIENDSHIPS WILL BE TORN APART...

 _"TOAD!" Oliver wailed, as he was left alone, steam escaping from all directions._

 _A bridge is reflected in the river, with Rosie and Rocky on it. A piece of the bridge falls into the river with a splash._

AND NEW ENEMIES WILL RISE...

 _The_ _mysterious man in a cowboy hat cackled as he placed a top hat nearby the wreckage._

 _"Let's see you deal with this, fatty..." He chuckled._

 _"Is_ _ **anyone**_ _going to question this?" Arthur asked, while sitting in the platform at Norramby._

ONLY ONE TANK ENGINE CAN STOP THEM AND SAVE SODOR...

 _"I have to prove the Fat Controller innocent! He's not the Rail Bandit! I know it!" Thomas shouted. Rosie was concerned._

THERE WILL BE DANGER...

 _"HELP!" Samson wailed, as he began to pick up speed. His assailant, the camelback engine from before, pushed hard from the rear._

 _George the Steamroller tipped over onto the wet cement, causing it to fly everywhere._

AND PROBLEMS WILL ARISE...

 _"Stay_ _ **out**_ _of this, Rosie! You've done enough damage!" Thomas yelled furiously, leaving a hurt Rosie behind._

 _A bridge overlooking a river collapsed._

 _Lucian, horrified, whistled and braked to a stop, while the black stallion galloped away._

JUSTICE WILL BE AT STAKE...

 _"_ _ **Officer**_ _Roy, now be still, criminal scum!" A little police car with three wheels shouted outside Knapford, as various other officers charged inside._

 _"You seem to forget who pulls the strings..." The voice of the cowboy said. The camelback engine looked terrified._

BETRAYAL IS ON THE HORIZON...

 _The camelback engine, painted red and grey, overlooked a moonlit cliff, cackling. The name "Jeb" is painted on his tender._

 _"I didn't do it! I swear!" The Fat Controller in an orange uniform slammed his hands on the table, with Lady Hatt sitting on the other side._

THE MOST DANGER IS IN THE PATH...

 _Rosie furiously shunted trucks, causing them to bang together._

 _The same man in the cowboy hat aimed a pistol at someone off-camera, with his finger on the trigger._

OF THOSE YOU KNOW THE LEAST.

 _A full moon is covered by the silhouette of a man riding a horse. Thomas, Rosie, Oliver and Toad's horrified faces flashed on the screen._

IT'S THOMAS' GREATEST ADVENTURE YET IN...

 _"What?" Thomas awoke in the dark tunnel._

 _ **RAMPAGE OF THE RAIL BANDITS**_

 _Thunder crashed as the cowboy aimed his pistol at the screen, before pulling the trigger. With a loud 'BANG!' the screen flashed to white._

COMING THIS AUGUST...

* * *

Get hype everybody! This is my biggest project ever, featuring original songs, brand new characters, and rather blank slate as the main character. The trailer should make it obvious who it is. Our new characters are Roy the Police Buggy, Jeb the Camelback Engine, James "Slim Jim" Langley, and Bonnie the Boxcar. They're all new archetypes for Thomas, and I'm excited to show them to you. As the first chapter will not be up until August, I am giving you guys the cover until then! Check my profile to see it!

Thank you so much for reading Set 1 of my original episodes, and, once it is released, read _Rampage of the Rail Bandits,_ coming this August!


	28. ANNOUNCEMENT (VOTE FOR AUDIO NARRATIONS)

Hey, everyone, Chase the Ferroequinologist here!

Just wanted to make the announcement that I will be doing audio stories for five of the stories in this first set while waiting on _Rampage of the Rail Bandits,_ and posting them on SoundCloud. I have made a poll on my profile, but it would be really wonderful if you guys spread the word around, and got as many people to vote as possible so I can really see what your guys' five favorite episodes are! The poll will be open for about two weeks, and then I will get to making the stories and posting them here!

Vote for your favorites! Thanks!

Also, the first chapter of _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ will be released on **Sunday** , **August 6th.** I will also be releasing the four original songs from this on SoundCloud when they are released. Thanks for reading, and vote in that poll!


	29. Winners of Audio Narration Poll!

Hey guys,

Over the past two weeks, I have been receiving votes for a poll to see which stories of mine _you_ would like to see turned into an audition narration. Well, after two weeks, we have a top five that I think will be absolutely stellar. Going down the list...

In fifth place, with four votes, we have _Back Engine._ This one is a particular favorite of mine, and I'm very happy it reached the top five. I am trying to find a girl to do Molly's voice in this one, so it'll probably be last. However, I have no doubts that it will turn out great.

In fourth place, also with four votes, we have _Don't Loo About._ This is probably going to be the easiest one to make due to how short it is, but I appreciate the fact that people like the "slice of life" stuff like this story is. Just a normal railway mistake, and I think this one will be fun to make. I'll probably use the same girl who does Molly's voice to do Emily's voice in this one.

In third place, with yet again, four votes, is _The Sad Story of Glynn._ My interpretation of Glynn has gone over very well, which makes me feel happy that I get to put it in audio form. I will use the Molly voice actress for Rosie's voice. I'm going to use the old S1-S2 synths for flashback sequences in this, so this will be a fun little expression.

In second place, with five votes, is _Gordon & Bear. _I'm surprised by how popular this one was, but I guess people just really like Bear. I'm looking forward to actually adapting _Super Rescue_ in audio form, and it'll just be a great story to do. It will probably come out last due to being the season finale, but I hope you all can wait.

And finally, in first place, with six votes...

 _Thomas & The Were-Engine. _This was not very shocking to me, as Lucian as a character has gone over extremely well, but I am looking forwards to narrating it nonetheless. It's certainly an out of the box story for Thomas, and I'm glad for the most part that people have enjoyed it enough for it to get it's own narration.

The order in which they are released will likely to be the same as the order they were published in, with the exception of switching _Thomas & The Were-Engine _and _The Sad Story of Glynn_ due to me wanting to get something up before looking for a female voice. Thanks for voting, and look on my Soundcloud for when these go up! /chase-thede

Until then, keep reading and reviewing until these go up! And keep a look out for _Rampage of the Rail Bandits!_

\- Chase


	30. Jock of All Trades

**JOCK OF ALL TRADES**

One day, Douglas the Caledonian Engine was sitting in the sheds at Arlesburgh when the yardmaster arrived.

"Mornin', sir!" He greeted cheerfully. The yardmaster smiled.

"Good morning, Douglas. I've been told to give you a special job."

"What kind, sir?" Douglas looked on curiously.

"There's an important load you need to take from the Steamworks to Arlesburgh Junction. It should be a quick delivery, so you can drop it off and be on your way." Douglas whistled.

"Och aye, sir." He began puffing away towards the Steamworks.

* * *

When Douglas arrived at the Steamworks, he saw Victor outside.

"Hello, Victor!" He called. Victor smiled.

"Hello, my friend! Have you come to pick up the important load?" Douglas grinned.

"Aye, Victor. Is it parts for the small engines? I nae see what the big deal is then. Just normal parts." Victor chuckled.

"Well, it's not just parts. Come inside and see, my friend!" Victor began backing into the Steamworks, looking back as to beckon Douglas to follow him. Douglas, curious, rolled into the Steamworks, and gasped when he saw his load on a flatbed.

"Losh sakes! It's an engine!" Sitting on the flatbed was an engine clearly meant to run on the Small Railway, as he was quite tiny. However, unlike Rex, Bert, and Mike, he was much taller, with a funnel and cab that looked like the size of a narrow gauge engine. He had two front wheels, six driving wheels, and two trailing wheels with a tender that somewhat resembled Douglas' own. However, the most eye-catching thing about him was his colour. He was painted in a unique yellow-green, with no lining.

"Must be an undercoat." He muttered. The engine looked eagerly at him.

"Hello! Have you come to bring me to the small railway?" He asked.

"Aye, that I have." Douglas grinned. Victor rolled alongside.

"The Small and Fat Controllers collaborated to have a new engine built here at the Steamworks. He's very strong, and is sure to help out with the increasing traffic down there." Victor beamed proudly. The new small engine blushed modestly.

"Thanks, Victor. I'm just looking forward to getting to finally work. Being cooped up on testing lines isn't the best way for me to show my strength, now is it?" The engine chuckled confidently. Douglas smiled.

"Well, let's not keep ye waiting!" He was coupled up to the flatbed, and began rolling away facing the little engine. Victor watched them as they left, Douglas pushing the flatbed.

"Enjoy work, friend!" He called as Douglas disappeared.

* * *

Douglas and the little engine rolled along the line up to Arlesburgh Junction. The two had begun to chatter and had already become friends.

"You're going to love the other wee engines. They've needed you for a while." Douglas remarked. The little engine's eyes lit up.

"Really? Wow." He chuckled a bit at the attention. Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"Y'know, yon colour reminds me of engines Donal' and I used to work with over in Scotland. Jocks, we used to call 'em." The small engine was perplexed.

"Jocks? Why were they called that?" He asked. Douglas chuckled.

"They were strong and reliable, like the players on sports teams." Douglas chuckled, "Might not be a bad name for yerself, eh, Jock?" The little engine thought for a moment.

"Jock…I like that." Douglas grinned back.

"You'd have to keep the colour though." He chuckled. Jock grinned thoughtfully.

"I like it. Thanks, Douglas." He then sat in thought the rest of the way to Arlesburgh Junction.

* * *

At the junction, the small engines were all abuzz about the new arrival.

"He's been built especially to work here! I can't wait to meet him!" Bert said giddily. Mike rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like it'll go to his ruddy smokebox…" He grumbled furiously. Rex chuckled.

"What, Mike? Worried you'll lose all your attention?" Mike gritted his teeth furiously. Frank rolled his eyes.

"Why are we so concerned about this new engine anyway? It's just another one of you to steal the spotlight." He muttered. Now it was Mike's turn to smirk.

"Worried that no one will want to see your little shunting recital, Frank?"

"I worked _hard_ to choreograph that, Mike!" Suddenly, a whistle rang out and Douglas rolled into the yard, with the new engine on his flatbed.

"Hello, laddies!" Douglas chuckled, "Ready for yon new arrival yet?" Before anyone could say anything, the Small Controller walked out of his office.

"Yes, thank you, Douglas. Bring him over here." Douglas whistled and shunted Jock's flatbed to the wharf. It didn't take long for Jock to be craned onto the wharf, and when he was completely on the rails, Douglas whistled and rolled away.

"Good luck, Jock!" He called. Jock smiled.

"Thanks, Douglas!" The Small Controller tapped his chin.

"Did he call you Jock?" Jock chuckled.

"Yes, sir. He says it's because my colour reminds me of engines from his old railway that were in the same one." The Small Controller thought.

"I quite like Jock. It means you would have to keep the colour. Do you mind?"

"No, sir. Not at all, sir!"

"Splendid. Welcome to the team, Jock!" Jock grinned proudly.

* * *

Soon enough, Jock was given red lining and a nameplate. He puffed out of the workshops looking splendid.

"Now, Jock, show your paces." The Small Controller said.

"Yes, sir!" Jock rolled over to the yard and shunted a long line of ballast hoppers with ease. Rex and Mike watched with amusement from the shed.

"He's certainly strong, isn't he?" Rex mused. Mike rolled his eyes.

"Looks like he's full of himself if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't." Suddenly, a horn rang out through the yard. Jock, who was shunting, looked to the stone wall surrounding the yard. Outside, a lorry was parked, too wide to get through the opening designed for cars.

"Is there another way to get in with these sleepers? We're too wide…" The driver said nervously. The Small Controller smirked.

"Jock, there's something I'd like to try."

* * *

Soon enough, Jock was coupled up to the large trailer the lorry was carrying, and was beginning to pull it into the yard.

" _How?_ " Mike's jaw dropped, bewildered. Rex chortled.

"Well, good on him. He's the strongest engine I've ever seen!" Jock strained as smoke billowed from his funnel, but he finally managed to pull the trailer to its intended spot in the yard. As Jock rolled to a stop, the Small Controller applauded.

"Well done, Jock. You are a credit to the team." Jock grinned proudly.

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

As the weeks went by, Jock got more and more cocky. His trains got longer and heavier, but he still found it easy.

"Any job that I'm given, I handle with ease! I'm a _Jock_ of all trades!" He boasted to Frank one morning. Frank raised an eyebrow, frowning.

"Are you? You haven't had to work with passengers yet. They're way harder than trucks. They _complain_ if you're late." Jock scoffed.

"I'm sure I can handle them. Passengers or goods, it's all the same. I carry the railway on my back!" Jock whistled and rolled away, leaving Frank behind to shunt his trucks.

Bert was getting ready to take a passenger train from the bottom station, but he was having troubles.

"Come on…I just need to get steam up! Stupid funnel…" Bert groaned. Suddenly, he heard a whistle, and Jock rolled alongside. The new engine grinned eagerly.

"Hey, Bert! Are you going to take that passenger train?" Bert coughed.

"I'd like to, but I can't get steam up…" Jock smirked.

"Well, I can take your train if you want me to, Bert! You deserve a rest! Let a real _team player_ take your train for you!" He smirked proudly and whistled before racing away.

"Wait, Jock!" Bert looked as Jock sped along towards the station, worried.

* * *

Jock arrived at the station and backed down onto the coaches, bumping into them hard.

"Get in quickly, please!" He called to the passengers. However, many of them remained on the platform, impressed.

"He looks so strong!" One marveled. Jock smirked.

"I _am._ I'm a _Jock_ of all trades!" The passengers climbed into the open-top coaches, and the guard's whistle blew.

"Off we go!" Jock started off roughly, bumping the coaches as he left.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" He called. However, the passengers didn't like being bounced around like peas in a frying pan.

"Such a rough engine!"

"He should be pulling filthy trucks!"

* * *

Jock rolled along the line, dragging the coaches along behind him.

"I have no idea what Frank was on about! This is easy!" Suddenly, Jock approached a junction and saw some ballast hoppers in the middle of the line. He quickly braked to a halt.

"Oy! What are you playing at?" One of the ballast hoppers groaned, "I'm trying to get some sleep!"

"Yeah!" Jock raised an eyebrow.

"What are you lot doing out here?"

"Mike was pulling us, but he broke one of our couplings. Now we're stuck here. We were supposed to be at the top station a while ago." Jock thought for a moment.

"I'm sure I could take you lot up there and pick up my train again in no time at all!" He smirked. The lead ballast hopper raised an eyebrow.

"Not to rain on your parade, mate, but you're pulling passengers. Just put us on a siding." She looked to Jock, but he was already moving his coaches to the siding.

"No one listens to us hoppers." She lamented. Jock was coupled up to the trucks.

"Come on, ladies!" Jock whistled and began rolling up the line. However, as Jock rolled out of sight, the passengers looked around.

"This isn't our station!" One of them commented.

* * *

Jock rolled into Arlesburgh Junction with his hoppers and moved them onto the chute, where Duck was waiting with some empty trucks below.

"Hello, there!" Duck called, "I don't think I've ever seen you before!" Jock rolled alongside.

"I'm Jock! I'm the strongest engine on the railway!" He boasted. Duck chuckled.

"You certainly appear to be pretty strong from the way you were carrying those trucks."

"It's all the same for me! Trucks or coaches! It's easy! I can carry ballast or passengers and it'll all be ea-" Jock's face fell.

"Oh no! My passengers!" Jock whistled and raced away, leaving a confused Duck behind.

* * *

The passengers were crowded around the guard's van on their siding.

"We want our money back!"

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Suddenly, they heard a whistle and Jock returned. His face was red with embarrassment.

"So sorry! Get in quickly please!" The passengers, grumbling furiously, climbed into the coaches, and Jock sped away to try and make up for lost time.

"The Small Controller is not going to be happy about this…" He muttered worriedly.

* * *

Rest assured, he certainly wasn't.

"Your jobs are not pick-and-choose, Jock! I have received complaints from many passengers about your actions today and I have to come to the conclusion that you don't know how to handle them!" Jock turned red.

"I'm very sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"It most certainly won't. Tomorrow I'm going to have you double-head a passenger train with Mike." Mike raised an eyebrow.

"What?" The Small Controller, however, ignored Mike.

"If you do not learn to pull passengers properly, I will shut you in the shed until you learn to not be so cocky." He then walked away. Rex chuckled.

"What did you _do_ today, Jock? The Small Controller must be pretty upset if he's having _Mike_ teach you how to take passengers." Mike scoffed.

"I know very well how to take passengers, Rex. I can teach you everything you need to know, Jock. Trust me." Mike smirked confidently. Jock glared.

"It was _your_ ballast hoppers that got me in trouble in the first place! I don't need your help!" Jock then went to sleep in a huff. Mike smirked.

"Maybe you don't…" He muttered darkly.

* * *

The following morning, Mike waited impatiently for Jock at the station.

"I don't see why I need him, I can manage…" Mike heard Jock's whistle as the yellow engine rolled into the station and backed down in front of Mike.

"This is ridiculous! I know how to handle any job! I just made a mistake yesterday." Jock snorted. Mike rolled his eyes.

"Just know how to handle _this_ one! I don't need to push you and pull the train too."

"You won't! I can probably handle this train all on my own, thank you!" Mike grinned.

"Oh, you will. After we reach the 'Green'…" He whispered and winked at his driver. The guard's whistle blew and the train left the station.

* * *

As the train reached "The Green", Mike began to put his plan into action.

"Easy does it…" He muttered, and gradually cut off steam, putting the whole weight of the train on Jock's buffers.

"Hey! Why is this train getting heavier!" Jock jerked back and forth, bumping the coaches. The passengers began to grumble.

"What is going on back there?" Jock called. He looked back and saw a smirking Mike.

"I have no idea!" Mike replied. Jock, however, glared.

"He's doing it on purpose!" He struggled onwards, with Mike lazily sitting behind.

* * *

At the next station, Jock called out to Mike.

"Feeling _tired,_ Mike?" Mike smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"You were enjoying yourself; I didn't want to spoil your fun!" To Mike's surprise, however, Jock smirked right back.

"I was wondering if I was going too fast for you!"

"Too fast!?" Mike spluttered. Jock chuckled, and whistled.

"I'm going to use the turntable if you need me! Try not to be _too_ slow!" Jock laughed as Mike grumbled furiously.

* * *

When it was time to leave again, Mike was still furious.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Mike shouted, pounding the rails at a great pace. Mike's driver called out.

"Steady, Mike! We're not running a race!"

"That's what you think…" Mike muttered. Jock easily kept up with Mike's speed.

"This is amazing!" Jock grinned, but the passengers didn't think so. They were getting bumped around again. At "The Green", the train rolled to a stop again. The driver tried to let water into the boiler, but something was wrong.

"Come on…stupid pump…" Mike groaned loudly.

"I need a drink, driver! I feel like I'm going to burst!" The driver sighed.

"Your injector's failed. Now Jock will have to pull us _and_ the passengers home." Jock smirked.

"Not a problem!" Mike glared at him.

* * *

After Mike's fire has been put out, Jock started off. The combined weight of Mike and the coaches was very heavy, and Jock was beginning to ride roughly again trying to pull them.

"Steady, Jock!" His driver called, but Jock kept going.

"I…have to…make it on time!" Suddenly, Jock saw a sheep on the line, and braked to a stop, bumping into Mike and the coaches. The passengers groaned.

"What an uncomfortable ride!"

"This engine does not know how to handle us!" Jock looked down in shame as the sheep trotted away. Mike took pity on him.

"Psst…Jock…" He whispered. Jock looked back.

"Yes?"

"With passengers you can't make any sudden stops. Figure out where you want to brake and start braking about 3 meters before." Jock raised an eyebrow.

"Alright."

* * *

The rest of the way home, Jock listened to Mike's advice and soon enough he was managing the coaches just fine. When he returned to the junction, Douglas was waiting with some coaches to take the passengers to the big station.

"That last leg was quite smooth."

"Yes, what a fine little engine." Douglas grinned at Jock as the small engine smirked proudly. The guard's whistle blew and Douglas rolled away, leaving Jock to shunt Mike into the shed. The red engine looked rather ashamed as Jock rolled alongside.

"Thanks for helping me get home." Jock smiled.

"Likewise." Mike said. Jock whistled and rolled away to take a ballast train.

* * *

That evening, Rex, Mike, Bert, and Jock all sat in the sheds. Jock cleared his throat quietly and spoke up.

"I'm sorry about my behavior. I've been very rude lately, but today Mike helped me realize that I still have a lot to learn." Bert smiled.

"You're forgiven." Jock chuckled, before continuing.

"I was wondering if you three could teach me everything about this railway there is to know. That way, some day, I really _could_ be a Jock of all trades!" Rex chuckled.

"I don't think we know _everything,_ Jock." However, Bert interrupted him.

"But we'll teach you everything we do." Jock grinned.

"Thanks, guys." Mike chuckled before speaking up himself.

"Welcome to the team, Jock." And with that, the four friends went happily to sleep.

 **THE END**

* * *

It's great to be back! This episode is essentially an adaptation of _Jock the New Engine_ with added content, but it still all flows rather well. Jock's a fun character and I can't wait to write more of him. A couple of things to address before we begin this next set:

\- **_ROTRB_ Characters: ** The characters introduced in _Rampage of the Rail Bandits_ will appear in these stories from here on out. If you have yet to read it, please do so, or certain episodes coming up will be rather confusing to you!

\- **Episode Reveals:** I will always have five episodes on deck in terms of reveals. One will be added after every chapter. The exception is this season's 6-episode set, which I will not spoil yet, which is going to be revealed all at once.

Now with that out of the way, the next couple of episodes!

\- _Snakes on a Train -_ Rusty has to figure out how to get rid of an infestation of Sudrian Burrowing Snakes on the line up to Ulfstead Castle.

\- _Whaling -_ Arthur suspects some fishermen in the fishing village of whaling, so he, Sergeant Roy, and Detective Miles Regan work together to stop the criminals!

\- _Who's Afraid of a Little Flour?_ (requested by tate310) - James is worried about carrying flour after a traumatic experience, but Thomas helps him get over his fears.

\- _The Diesel Divide -_ Den and Dart kick Diesel 10 out of the Dieselworks after a series of events caused by the clawed Warship, but realize that he was the only thing that kept the other diesels from fighting!

\- _Hook, Line, and Blinker -_ Butch tries to catch a fish while working at Brendam Docks when Cranky is being repaired.


	31. Snakes on a Train

**SNAKES ON A TRAIN**

It was a lovely day on the Island of Sodor. Passengers were using the railways to reach every corner of the island. The narrow gauge railway was especially very busy due to the establishment of tour trains up to Ulfstead Castle. Duncan was placed in charge of the trains, and he was very proud of them.

"Passengers are relying on _me_ to show them a valuable piece of Sudrian history!" Duncan boasted to Rusty, who sat in the other platform of Crovan's Gate one afternoon. Rusty rolled his eyes.

"I'll stick to maintenance, thank you. I wouldn't be much good for giving tours." He sighed, but Duncan continued smirking.

"Nae bother for me. Tours are easy." The guard's whistle blew and Duncan rolled away, leaving Rusty behind.

* * *

The coaches Duncan was using had no doors. This was so the passengers could see more of the land around them on their tours. Duncan approached a section of track that passed by a lush, green field. However, today, it was full of holes in the ground. Duncan was surprised.

"What the-" Suddenly, a loud scream rang out from one of the coaches.

"SNAKE!" Much to Duncan's shock, a woman was screaming and curled up in her seat, while a large snake with sharp fangs slithered along the floor of the coach. Duncan quickly braked to a halt, and the guard sprinted over to the coach and threw the snake out. He let out a sigh of relief as the hysterical woman calmed down.

"Sorry, ma'am. I don't think that has ever happened before." However, Duncan whistled from the front of the train in horror.

"BACK UP! BACK UP!" He cried. The guard looked in front, and saw a group of thirty large, brown snakes slithering towards Duncan, and frantically sprinted back to his van. The passengers screamed in terror, but no one was more terrified than Duncan.

"AAH!" Duncan yelped, and the driver began allowing him to back up.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Duncan reversed as fast as his wheels would let him, leaving the snakes behind in their territory.

* * *

The following morning, the Thin Controller had a meeting with all of his engines.

"It has come to my attention that we have a snake infestation on our tour line up to Ulfstead Castle." The engines all looked to Duncan, whose face was frozen in pure terror. The Thin Controller cleared his throat, and continued.

"As you all know, this line is one of our busiest and most important during the summer, so we must deal with this problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. Rusty, I'm going to send you, Mr. Hugh, and some workmen down the line to deal with the problem. I've only cancelled trains for one day, so you have twenty-four hours to get rid of the snakes." Rusty was nervous; he had never had to remove snakes before. However, he swallowed his nervousness.

"Yes, sir." He said. The Thin Controller smiled.

"That's a good engine. I knew I could count on you!" Rusty meekly smiled back.

"Certainly, sir."

* * *

After all of the engines left to complete their work, Rusty remained behind, where Mr. Hugh was briefing the men, using a chalkboard.

"What we are dealing with is the Sudrian burrowing snake, or _Adelphicos sudrus._ Their fangs, while _not_ venomous, are very, very sharp to help them capture their prey, so avoid their bite at all costs." Mr. Hugh drew a picture of a snake on the chalkboard, circling the sharp fangs. Rusty looked on with worry. Mr. Hugh continued.

"I have done the liberty of researching various methods to get rid of the snakes, so we will have to try these one by one today. First, however, we have to wait for our cargo from the animal park." A loud whistle sounded out, and the men turned to look. Mr. Hugh smirked with satisfaction.

"Right on time. Come on, Rusty." Mr. Hugh hopped into Rusty's cab and the little diesel rolled off towards the station platform. Sitting in the platform was Hiro, who was carrying a long line of trucks.

"Good morning, Mr. Hugh. Good morning, Rusty." Hiro greeted. Mr. Hugh grinned.

"Thank you for being so punctual, Hiro. You are doing a great service to our railway." Hiro smiled.

"Always happy to help a friend in need, sir." The men unloaded one of Hiro's trucks, containing several strange contraptions. Rusty raised an eyebrow.

"Hiro, what are we supposed to do with all this stuff? It just looks like a whole lot of rubbish to me." Hiro chuckled.

"I'm not much of an expert with these snakes, Rusty. All I know is that all of this is especially designed to capture them." Rusty concernedly looked back as the men carried a large metal pole from Hiro's train to Rusty's.

"I don't see how a bunch of big pieces of metal are going to help capture snakes." Hiro winked at Rusty.

"Well then; be creative! Thinking outside the box will get you somewhere!" Hiro was completely unloaded, so the guard's whistle blew and the big engine rolled away, leaving a worried Rusty behind.

* * *

Soon enough, the men had assembled a truck resembling a cage that they coupled up behind Rusty. The little diesel had assembled a train of the cage truck, a coach, two vans, full with other contraptions that had been assembled to catch the snakes, and a guard's van on the end of the train. Mr. Hugh climbed into Rusty's cab, and the men scrambled into Rusty's coach.

"Come on, Rusty!" Mr. Hugh honked Rusty's horn and the little diesel started off, dragging the heavy train behind him. He was still thinking about what Hiro had said.

" _Thinking outside the box will get you somewhere!_ " Hiro's voice said in Rusty's head. The little diesel remained in deep thought as they rolled along the line.

* * *

When they arrived at the site, the men got out and began listening to Mr. Hugh talk.

"Alright, fellows! We have a job to do, and we will not rest until it is done! We will capture every snake and put them in the cage to be taken to the animal park!" He took something out of his pocket, and one of the men raised his hand.

"What is that, Mr. Hugh?" Mr. Hugh smirked and held up a stuffed mouse tied to a string.

" _This,_ gentlemen, is showing how easy it is to catch one of these snakes." Mr. Hugh swung the mouse around and threw it out into the middle of the field, holding onto the string.

"In no time at all, we'll use our bait here to catch a snake. Just wait and see!" So the men and Rusty did. They waited and waited, but not a snake appeared.

"Is something supposed to be happening?" One of the men asked to the others. Mr. Hugh, frustrated, shook the mouse around on the string, but a snake still didn't come.

"Come on, you stupid reptile!" Mr. Hugh dropped the fake mouse into one of the holes. Not a bite. He tried another hole. Mr. Hugh's face turned red as he bounced the mouse from hole to hole, trying to lure out a snake. Eventually, he stomped out into the field.

"Where are you, snakes!?" He stomped out into the hole-filled field, adding more slack to the string, before angrily sticking his arm down one of the holes and reaching around.

"Come on, you nasty little-" Mr. Hugh's eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain in his hand.

"YEOWWWWWWWWW!"

* * *

Rusty raced to Ulfstead Castle with Mr. Hugh on board, with one of the other men driving him.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hugh! We'll get you somewhere safe!" Rusty called back. Mr. Hugh whimpered in pain. The little diesel raced through the castle gates and honked his horn loudly.

"Is there a doctor anywhere? We need immediate medical attention!" He called. From among a chattering group of tourists, Sir Robert Norramby ran over. Rusty's temporary driver helped Mr. Hugh out of the cab, and the Earl looked startled.

"My goodness, Ivo! Are you alright?" Mr. Hugh winced in pain. The driver spoke up.

"Is there an infirmary here? We need medical attention right away!" Sir Robert nodded.

"Yes, it's right inside! Come on, Ivo…" Sir Robert and the workman supported Mr. Hugh as they all limped into the castle. Rusty cringed as he watched the door close. He then heard a whistle and saw Millie on another line.

"Bonjour, Rusty!" She greeted, "Is Mr. Hugh alright?"

"He should be. He got bit by a snake, but it's non-venomous." Millie's eyes widened with concern.

"Rusty, what are you doing with snakes?" She was bewildered.

"We have to get rid of them in," Rusty looked up at the clock, "less than nineteen hours now."

"That seems like a lot of time." Millie smiled, but Rusty frowned.

"I don't have any idea how to get rid of snakes! I deal with rails, not reptiles." Suddenly, they heard a loud horn and Class 40 rolled into the castle with a long line of refrigerated vans, grumbling furiously.

"Good morning, Class 40!" Millie greeted cheerfully. The big diesel rolled his eyes.

"What's so good about it?" He grumbled. Just then, an odd smell filled the air.

"What's that smell?" Rusty asked. Class 40 scowled.

"Meat for the Earl's barbeque tonight." Rusty's eyes widened as he looked at Class 40's long train.

"How big is this barbeque going to be? That train's huge!"

"Exactly what I said! He ordered far too much, and now I smell like a delicatessen from having come all the way up here. You could feed an entire zoo with this stuff and still have surplus meat! It's ridiculous!" Millie chuckled.

"You always have something to complain about, don't you, 'Bowler'?"

"I thought we agreed that we would never use that name around here, Millie." The diesel's teeth were clenched. Suddenly, the door opened and Mr. Hugh walked out, a large bandage around his hand, Rusty's temporary driver following him.

"Come on, Rusty." Mr. Hugh said confidently, although his swollen hand said otherwise.

"Yes, sir." Rusty said unsurely. The two men climbed back into Rusty's cab, and the little diesel left, leaving Millie and Class 40 behind.

* * *

When they returned to the snakes' territory, Mr. Hugh had the men assemble the contraptions they had brought to capture the snakes. One was a large water pump that ran hoses into the various holes the snakes had dug into. Mr. Hugh grinned confidently and gave the men a hand gesture to allow water to pump into the holes. However, when they turned on the pump, water burst out of small holes in the hoses. Mr. Hugh frantically signaled to shut off the hoses, and the water stopped. Mr. Hugh inspected the hoses and saw that they had several fang-sized holes in them. He groaned, and Rusty cringed.

* * *

Their next device was a long pole, which the men stuck into the hole of one of the snakes. They waited patiently, but nothing happened. Mr. Hugh stomped over and angrily shoved the pole deeper into the hole, where the men suddenly felt a pull. They frantically pulled the pole out of the hole, and lo and behold a snake was on the end! Mr. Hugh smirked.

"There we go, boys! We caught one!" He walked over to the snake coiled on the end of the pole and pointed at it with his bandaged hand.

"We got you, you stupid snake!" He taunted. However, the snake hissed and detached itself from the pole, causing Mr. Hugh to lose his balance and fall over. The snake fell to the ground and dug another hole, out of sight in a matter of seconds. Mr. Hugh's eyes widened as his snake was out of sight.

"NO! WHY!? WHY!?" Mr. Hugh wailed as the sun began to set out of the sky. Rusty looked up at the setting sun, before sighing.

* * *

Mr. Hugh called another meeting of the men as night began to fall. Morale was significantly lower than the morning, and Mr. Hugh himself was especially exhausted.

"Gentlemen, we have been trying to catch a snake for about twelve hours now, and have yet to catch a single one." Mr. Hugh mopped his brow in exhaustion and misery.

"We've tried our best, assembled every device designed to capture these snakes and used them exactly as instructed, but not a single of these wretched reptiles has been caught. I'm afraid that unless someone has a brilliant idea, we are going to have to give up." The men looked miserable. However, Rusty was thinking.

" _You could feed an entire zoo with this stuff and still have surplus meat! It's ridiculous!_ "

" _Their fangs, while not venomous, are very, very sharp to help them capture their prey..."_

" _Thinking outside the box will get you somewhere!"_ Suddenly, the little diesel spoke up.

"Mr. Hugh, I have an idea to capture the snakes!" Mr. Hugh looked at Rusty in confusion.

"What?"

"We need to go to Ulfstead Castle, quickly!" Rusty, coupled to the coach full of workmen, sped up to the castle as quickly as his wheels could carry him.

* * *

At Ulfstead Castle, workmen were preparing to unload Class 40's train of meat when Rusty arrived. The Earl was surprised to see the little diesel.

"Back again, Rusty? Is everything alright?" He asked. Rusty spoke up.

"You have a lot of extra meat, don't you?" Class 40 rolled his eyes.

"Do we ever…" He muttered. Rusty spoke up.

"We need a big piece of meat cooked right away!" The workmen all looked confused, but the Earl agreed.

"Certainly, Rusty. I'll be as quick as possible!"

* * *

Soon enough, a freshly roasted strip steak was given to workmen, who wrapped it up and kept it warm in their coach. Rusty quickly reversed away from Ulfstead Castle and back down to the field.

"Alright, everyone! Get the string from the mouse and tie it around the meat! Then tie the string to part of the metal pole and hold it above the cage!" The men quickly obliged, and soon enough, their trap was set. Mr. Hugh was baffled.

"How is this supposed to help us catch snakes?" Rusty grinned.

"We're not catching _them_ , Mr. Hugh; _they're_ catching their prey!" The smell wafted over to the holes, and one by one the snakes slithered out of the holes and into the open door of the cage truck, digging into the meat. The workmen watched in bewilderment.

"Well, what are you waiting for, close it!" Rusty called back, and the men shut the door. The snakes slithered around, but couldn't escape the confines of the cage. The men cheered, and Mr. Hugh walked up to Rusty, very impressed.

"Well, I'll be! You really did it, Rusty!" The little diesel smiled.

"Thanks, sir." Suddenly, a snake began chewing at the bars of the cage. Mr. Hugh's eyes widened in concern.

"Let's get these back to Crovan's Gate before something goes wrong." The men agreed, and after packing up their things, returned back down the line to Crovan's Gate.

* * *

When they returned to Crovan's Gate, Hiro was waiting at the platform with a van for the snake cage to be taken to the animal park. As the men loaded the cage into the van, Rusty looked up at the bigger engine.

"Thanks, Hiro." The larger engine looked confused.

"For what, Rusty?"

"For giving me the idea I needed to help capture the snakes." Hiro chuckled.

"I didn't come up with that idea at all. That was all you, Rusty!" The guard's whistle blew and Hiro rolled away, leaving Rusty behind to smile.

* * *

The following day, the Thin Controller came to see the engines again.

"Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Hugh and Rusty, we should be able to reopen traffic on the tour lines up to Ulfstead Castle." The engines cheered.

"Well done, Rusty!"

"You're amazing!"

"Brilliant work!" Rusty smiled modestly. The Thin Controller then turned to Duncan.

"Duncan, I want you to resume tour trains as normal today." However, the little engine was still wide-eyed.

"I'm not going back up there! What if the snakes come back?" He shuddered in terror. The engines chuckled. The Thin Controller raised an eyebrow.

"Very well, Duncan. You can take Rusty's maintenance trains." The little engine gaped, the Thin Controller then turning to Rusty.

"Rusty, I'm sure you wouldn't mind taking Duncan's tour trains?" The little diesel raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, sir." The Thin Controller then walked away.

* * *

As Rusty took his passengers, he was having the time of his life. The line was clear and the weather was brilliant. He took in a deep breath of fresh air as he rolled along.

"I see why Duncan likes this, it's amazing!" Rusty passed the field where the snakes had been; the holes were filled in and the field was beginning to look like its old self again. He hooted his horn eagerly as he rolled past, on his way up to the castle. Rusty took tours for the rest of the summer, and enjoyed his time on them immensely.

* * *

And what of the snakes? They now have their home in the Reptile House of the Sodor Animal Park, where they are kept well fed and happy. Rusty and Mr. Hugh were very glad that, with the snakes safe, they didn't have to worry about the problem of "snakes on a train" anymore!

 **THE END**

* * *

This story is an idea that I've been tossing around for a while. I got to use wackier characters in it with Rusty being the star, with Mr. Hugh serving a supporting role as a leader trying to keep his temper together with all the crazy things he has to do. Using Duncan, Hiro, and Class 40 were loads of fun, Class 40 especially due to his snarky persona. The Sudrian burrowing snake is (obviously) a fictional species, but I based them off the Dary's burrowing snake, but much larger. What did you think of the story? Leave a review and tell me!

Next five episodes:

\- _Whaling_

 _\- Who's Afraid of a Little Flour?_

 _\- The Diesel Divide_

 _\- Hook, Line, and Blinker_

 _\- Captain's Calamity -_ Captain the Lifeboat feels under-appreciated when he gets no thanks after completing the most dangerous rescue of his career.


	32. Whaling

**WHALING**

If you visit the beautiful seaside town of Norramby, you may see Arthur the Big Tank Engine hard at work on his branch line. Arthur is very proud of the way he manages his branch line, and this is mostly due to his pride in his spotless record. One day, Arthur rolled in Norramby with a passenger train, where he saw Jeb the Camelback Engine and Bonnie the Boxcar sitting on their siding.

"Hey look, it's Artie!" Bonnie giggled. Jeb glared.

"Great." Arthur rolled into the platform and braked to a halt.

"Howdy, Artie!" Bonnie greeted cheerfully. Jeb gagged. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Morning, Bonnie. Morning, Jeb." Bonnie grinned eagerly, while Jeb remained in a dull frown. Arthur looked around awkwardly.

"So, erm…what are you two doing around here?" Jeb smirked.

"Plotting our great escape to the mainland, away from this dump." He said sarcastically. Arthur glared at the parking boot around Jeb's front wheel.

"I will not hesitate to call your parole officer." Jeb laughed darkly.

"You can't take a joke, buddy?" Arthur glared as the camelback engine continued laughing.

"I am perfectly capable of 'taking a joke', thank you, Jeb." However, Jeb sneered back at him.

"You aren't. You know, that's the problem with you, buddy; you're too uptight! Someone can't even think about breaking the rules without you hounding them with your 'spotless record'." The camelback engine chuckled, "Loosen up a bit, pal, or you may just come apart from how tightly wound you are." He cackled before coughing and quieting down. Arthur glared back at him.

"I know for a fact that I'm _not_ too uptight." The guard's whistle blew.

"What makes you qualified to say that, _uptight_ Artie?" Jeb sneered back. Arthur smirked.

"I have a spotless record, and _you_ have a criminal one!" The camelback engine growled angrily as Arthur left the station with his coaches, Bonnie snorting and laughing.

* * *

One of Arthur's favorite places on his branch line is the Fishing Village. Here, fish come in from all over the island to be taken by Arthur in vans to various ports and towns on other parts of the island. Arthur is very fond of all the fishermen that come into the port, and greets them cheerfully whenever they arrive. Today was no different. Arthur arrived at the port with empty fish vans and whistled as he braked to a halt. The harbourmaster walked over to him.

"Arthur! Splendid to see you! We've got a load of fish you need to take to Brendam Docks." Arthur smiled.

"That's a long way from here. I better take on water." Arthur was uncoupled from his vans and rolled over towards the water tower. However, he saw an odd sight ahead.

"Huh?" Across the bay was an quaint, grubby fishing boat, but that wasn't the strange part. An equally grubby tarpaulin covered the entire rear end of the boat, and it had something pointy under it. Arthur raised an eyebrow and called out.

"Excuse me? What is that on the back of your boat?" However, as soon as Arthur had called out, the boat sped away. Arthur was confused.

"That's funny…" He muttered, but he didn't have time to think about it. As soon as his tank was filled, Arthur reversed back into his now full fish vans and set off.

"Next stop, Brendam Docks!" He called as the fishing village gradually left his sight.

* * *

Arthur eventually rolled into Brendam Docks, where everything was busier than ever. He began braking to a stop alongside Cranky, when suddenly a long line of trucks began moving towards him.

"Hey!" Arthur braked to a halt just as the trucks passed him. Behind them was Diesel, who simply sneered at Arthur as he rolled past.

"Watch it, Arthur! I'm shunting here!"

"Well, you're going much too fast!"

"Shove it in your spotless record!" Arthur glared as Diesel was out of sight. He heard another horn, and to his surprise, Salty meandered over.

"Ahoy, matey!" The diesel braked to a halt. Arthur smiled at him.

"Hey, Salty. Got some fish for the ships!" From above, Arthur heard Cranky butt in.

"Great! I _love_ fish." The crane spat sarcastically. Salty chuckled.

"You always a reason to be upset, don't you, Cranky?" Cranky glared down at him.

"Hmph." However, Salty saw Arthur's distracted look and raised an eyebrow.

"You alright, Arthur? You seem a little preoccupied."

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine, Salty, thanks. I just saw something odd down at the fishing village, that's all." Cranky raised an eyebrow.

"What, fish?" Arthur glared.

"No, I saw a fishing boat that was covering up its rear end with a tarpaulin, and the tarpaulin was covering something. Something big and sharp…" Salty raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm…" He muttered. However, Diesel rolled alongside again, laughing.

"What do you think is under there, Arthur? A whaling harpoon?" The shunter burst out laughing again, leaving Arthur to glare at him. Salty pondered before smirking.

"It might be, matey. Where I used to work, there was a ship caught for whaling that covered up its harpoon _just_ like that." Salty chuckled, but Arthur was horrified!

"Whaling is _highly_ illegal! I have to tell somebody!" However, before Arthur could roll away, Salty called out.

"Wait, Arthur!" The large tank engine braked to a stop.

"There's no time to wait, Salty!"

"I was just joking, matey! It's probably nothing!" Salty laughed. Arthur however, frowned.

"Oh, alright." Diesel snickered.

"What? Did you _actually_ think he was serious?" Arthur glared at Diesel.

"Of course not. Simply playing along." Arthur whistled and rolled away, leaving a worried Salty, smirking Diesel, and indifferent Cranky behind.

* * *

Back at Norramby, business was booming in the Knickknack Emporium. Bonnie sat in the sun cheerfully, while Jeb grumbled.

"Stupid parking boot…stupid parole…"

"You wouldn't be talking 'bout our little parole officer buddy, would ya, Jeb?" Bonnie smirked. Jeb glared.

"Don't remind me, Bonnie. My life's hard enough without that stupid little…" Suddenly they heard a honk and looked towards the platform. There were Sergeant Roy and Detective Miles Regan, the duo's parole officers.

"Joy." Jeb spat dully. Roy raised an eyebrow.

"Afternoon, you two! Getting up to any trouble?" He asked. Jeb gave a large, yet obviously fake, grin.

"Of course not, _Sergeant_ Roy." He said through gritted teeth. Detective Regan walked over and inspected Jeb.

"Not like you could, Jeb. This boot's one of the best manufactured." The camelback engine growled. When the detective was done, Bonnie spoke up.

"We've been perfectly good law-abiders! Clean as a whistle!" She smiled proudly. Jeb rolled his eyes.

"Not that we expected anything different." He snarled. Detective Regan got back into Roy and they drove away. Roy frowned.

"You know, they're right, detective. Ever since we took this parole job, nothing exciting ever happens." Detective Regan chuckled.

"Roy, the one thing you learn after being a cop for fifteen years is peace and quiet is a gift."

"I know, but it would be nice to get a little action!"

"Well, we'll see if anything happens on our drive back to HQ." With that, Roy and Detective Regan merged onto the main road and continued their trek to the police station in Knapford.

* * *

Arthur had to pick up some passengers from Norramby later that day, so he had to pass through the fishing village again. Suddenly, however, he saw a man waving a red flag up ahead.

"Bother, I have to stop. I'm going to be late now." The harbourmaster was the one who had flagged Arthur down, and spoke to him.

"Sorry, Arthur. We dropped a few crates of fish on the line and we need to clear them off. You'll have to wait for a little." Arthur sighed; he didn't want to wait but he wouldn't dare refuse to do so.

"Yes, sir." As he waited, Arthur spotted the same fishing boat from that morning with the tarpaulin on it. He saw the fishermen from the boat munching on sandwiches near some crates.

"Maybe Salty's right; it's probably nothing." He was just about to look away, but groaned.

"I might as well check." Arthur rolled towards the fishermen, braking to a halt. The men looked at him, before Arthur awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Pardon me, gentlemen. I can't help noticing that your boat has a tarpaulin on the rear of it. I was simply wondering what you were covering up?" Arthur grinned sheepishly, clearly intimidated. One of the fishermen chuckled in his low, growly voice and walked up to Arthur.

"Tell you what, we'll tell you. But you have to promise to keep it a secret, alright?" Beads of sweat were beginning to visibly appear on Arthur's face, but he retained his composure.

"C-certainly!" He grinned nervously. The fisherman looked left and right before leaning over to Arthur.

"Well, what we're doing is-" Suddenly, a loud horn rang out from a passing ship that drowned out the fisherman's speech. Arthur tried to speak up, but didn't want to interrupt the fisherman.

"Excuse me, I think-"

"-blubber about!" The fisherman finished his speech. Arthur's eyes widened in terror, his thoughts going wild.

" _Blubber? Whales have blubber!_ " He thought, panicking. However, he grinned nervously, and looked to see the line was clear.

"Ah, yes. Well, um, thank you for your time. I really must be off now. Bye!" Arthur raced away towards Norramby, leaving the fisherman quite confused.

* * *

Arthur picked up his passengers from Norramby and took them up to Knapford. He was still extremely worried about the fishermen.

"Oh, they're _whaling_ …what do I do, what do I do?" He muttered to himself as he approached the station. Thomas was in the platform with his coaches and whistled cheerfully to him.

"Hi, Arthur!" However, Arthur continued muttering to himself, leaving Thomas in the platform. Thomas frowned.

"How rude." Annie mused.

"Quite right." Clarabel agreed. Arthur braked to a halt in his platform and Thomas called back to him again.

"Arthur! Are you alright?" Arthur snapped out of his state of panic.

"Hmm? Yes? Oh yes, I'm fine, Thomas. Just fine, just fine, _just fine._ " His eyes darted around the station.

"You seem a little on edge. Do you want to talk about it?" Thomas offered, smiling. Arthur wasn't paying attention, and simply left his coaches at the platform and rolled away to fetch some water. Thomas was very annoyed.

"Just because he has a 'spotless record' doesn't mean he has to be rude…" Thomas grumbled. His guard's whistle blew and he left the station.

* * *

Arthur was still fretting deeply about the whalers as he took on water.

"Oh, bother. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to d-" Arthur's eyes widened as he saw something zooming along the road.

"That's Roy!" He muttered as he watched the buggy zoom along. However, he got an idea.

"I can stop those whalers! I just need to get the police!" He whistled and sped along towards the police station.

Roy and Detective Regan pulled into their parking spot.

"I could go for a cup of coffee right now…" Detective Regan remarked.

"I could go for a polish." Roy retorted. Suddenly, they heard a whistle, and a rapidly approaching voice.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Detective! Sergeant! Emergency at the fishing village!" Arthur braked into the platform beside the police station, red-faced with exhaustion. Roy giddily grinned.

"Emergency! That's what we are here for, right, Detective? Let's get going!" However, Detective Regan quickly cut off his excitement.

"Hold on, Roy. What's the matter, Arthur?"

"There are whalers at the fishing village! They told me about their 'blubber'! You have to stop them!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Arthur, slow down! Have you tried going to the Coast Guard yet? Or Captain at the Search and Rescue Center? This seems like more of their jurisdiction." Arthur frowned.

"Detective, there's no time! We need help right away before they get any more whales! They already have some!" Detective Regan sighed, and Roy grinned.

"Let's get going, then!" Detective Regan climbed into Roy and the two of them began to follow Arthur back to the fishing village.

* * *

The boat was still in the village, parked while the fishermen played cards on the deck. Arthur and Roy rolled up several yards away.

"Right there!" Arthur whispered, "With the tarpaulin on it!" Detective Regan stepped out of Roy and squinted to look at it.

"What, that on the back?"

"It's a whaling harpoon! You see how sharp it is?" Roy squinted to get a good look as well.

"I personally don't." He mused. Detective Regan sighed.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. I'm going to see if I can sneak onboard and take a peek at what's under there. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, go to Captain and the Coast Guard." Detective Regan then discretely walked towards the boat, before climbing aboard on the opposite side of the fishermen. Arthur and Roy watched worriedly.

"I hope he comes out alright…" Arthur muttered worriedly. Roy chuckled.

"You're too uptight, Arthur. Detective Regan is one of the best I know."

"I'm _not_ too uptight…" Arthur snapped defensively, as he and Roy waited in the sun.

* * *

On the boat, the fishermen continued their card game.

"Your turn, Harry!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Let me look at my deck, mate." Detective Regan poked his head out from behind the cab, making sure they were sufficiently distracted. He then turned to the device under the tarpaulin, and carefully crawled towards it, hiding out of sight behind the large device. He peeked carefully underneath the tarpaulin, and gasped. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.

"What do you think you're doing, mate?"

* * *

Arthur and Roy were still waiting by the boat. It had been ten minutes, and Arthur was beginning to grow worried.

"Where is he? Detective Regan's supposed to be experienced with criminals!"

"He is!" Roy snapped defensively.

"Then something must have happened to him! We have to get the rest of the police!" Roy was startled.

"Detective Regan said to get Captain and the Coast Guard!" However, Arthur had already started reversing.

"They're not on the ocean! This is police business! Stay here, Roy!" Arthur raced away towards the police station, leaving a startled Roy behind.

"I think I'd know what is and isn't police business..." Roy muttered.

* * *

Arthur sped towards the police station on the Main Line, puffing hard.

"Come on! Come on!" Suddenly, he heard a loud whistle and saw a cloud of steam coming from around the bend.

"They're on the other line, I'm fine." However, he suddenly saw Thomas racing straight towards him on his line!

"Out of the way, Arthur!" He cried. Arthur screwed the brakes on tight, and managed to come to a stop just in time for Thomas to switch onto another line.

"Mind your track!" He shouted angrily. Arthur blushed sheepishly.

"Sorry, Thomas! It seemed like you were on the other line!"

"Well, Arthur, things aren't _always_ as they seem!" Thomas rolled away, still upset. Arthur frowned, before switching tracks and speeding towards the police station.

* * *

Arthur rolled into the police station and whistled loudly.

"Emergency at the fishing village! Officer down!" He cried. Quickly, police officers shuffled out of the station and into their vehicles, speeding off towards the fishing village, with Arthur following behind.

* * *

Roy was still waiting at the Fishing Village when he suddenly heard loud sirens and a wide variety of police cars sped in. Arthur braked in behind them.

"I'm back, Roy!" Various officers got out of their cars, and Sergeants Small and Tall ran to the front of the pack.

"Unhand our fellow officer and nobody gets hurt!" Small announced.

"We'll have you know that _whaling_ is a federal crime!" Tall added. Suddenly, however, one of the fishermen and Detective Regan walked out.

"Detective Regan!" Arthur gasped, "You're okay!"

"Not shocked!" Roy called cynically from nearby. Detective Regan looked around.

"Arthur, why did you bring the entire department down here?"

"You said if you weren't back in fifteen minutes to get the police!" Arthur replied.

"No, I said to get the Coast Guard, and besides-" Suddenly, they heard a horn and Captain the Lifeboat rolled up to the docks.

"Hello, hello, hello, what's going on here, then?" He asked.

"We're about to catch these whalers!" Arthur announced, although most of the police turned to stare at him. Captain raised an eyebrow.

"Are you? Said whalers wouldn't happen to be this vessel here, would it?" Detective Regan spoke up.

"Arthur, you were wrong. These men here aren't whalers; they're just normal fishermen!"

"I would know, I inspected them this morning!" Arthur looked astonished, and the police force, as well as Roy, looked extremely miffed at him.

"B-but, when I talked to them, they said something about blubber!" The fisherman who Arthur had spoken to that morning stood up in astonishment.

"What I said was 'the fish we've got here has to got to stay out of the sun, so when it goes to the market, the customers have nothing to blubber _about_!'" Arthur winced in embarrassment as the fishermen took of the tarpaulin, revealing a sharp post with a fishnet hanging on the end filled with drying fish. Arthur's jaw dropped in astonishment, and all the officers turned around to stare at him with deep annoyance.

"Erm…sorry." Arthur blushed in shame. Officer Small spoke up.

"Excuse me, detective, but why were you hanging around on the boat?" Detective Regan scratched the back of his head.

"Got distracted by their card game after they showed me the fish…that was my bad." Captain cleared his throat.

"By the way, Arthur, if you had problems on the water you should have come to _me._ You've wasted a lot of police resources and time with this little misunderstanding, when all you needed to do was ask and not jump to conclusions." Arthur looked down in absolute shame.

"Sorry…" He said meekly. Every eye in the village was on him.

* * *

By sundown, all the police cars had left except Roy and Detective Regan. The detective spoke to Arthur.

"Arthur, despite the amount of resources you've wasted, you had the right idea about coming to the law to address something suspicious. However, I hope you've learned to know all the facts."

"Yes, sir." Detective Regan climbed inside Roy, and the buggy zoomed away.

"I said I wanted action, but I didn't mean like this..." Roy muttered, leaving Arthur to solemnly begin limping home to Norramby.

"Great. I made a right fool of myself today, didn't I?" He sighed.

"Everyone's right. I am uptight. If I weren't so on edge all the time, maybe I wouldn't have questioned the tarpaulin on the boat, and wasted everyone's time…" However, as he approached the station, he had a thought.

"Maybe this isn't such a bad thing. Now that I know I'm uptight, I can fix it! And I can be a better engine!" He chuckled to himself as he approached Norramby. Jeb and Bonnie were sitting on their siding, finished after another long day of selling novelty items. Jeb smirked as he saw Arthur rolling into the station.

"Evenin', Artie! Heard about your little incident with the whales today! Pity you had to waste all that time for the police that could have been spent stopping a mugging, or a bank robbery, or even my escape to the mainland!" He laughed loud and long, but much to his surprise, Arthur laughed with him.

"That's a good one." Arthur laughed. Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"You alright?" To Jeb's surprise, Arthur smiled back at him.

"You were right, Jeb, I am a little uptight. But I'm going to fix it so I don't have an incident like today again. I vow to be a much more relaxed engine." Arthur shut his eyes calmly, while Jeb smirked.

"Is that someone picking up money from the ground on the platform?" Arthur's eyes popped open and shot to the platform, before realizing Jeb's joke.

"Very funny, Jeb." The camelback engine cackled, while Bonnie chuckled along with him. Arthur grinned as he looked up at the sky.

"One step at a time." He chuckled under his breath.

 **THE END**

* * *

I bet this wasn't what many of you were expecting. This story sort of turned into a semi-follow up to _ROTRB_ (which please read if you have yet to do so to get to know Roy, Jeb, and Bonnie better), and a semi-character exploration for Arthur. He has now accepted his flaw of his uptight-ness, and is now going to try to fix it over the course of the season in his other appearances. Thomas' role may seem forced, but it is foreshadowing for another upcoming episode that is yet to be revealed, and will make his scenes much less awkward when that episode rolls around. Writing more Regan was awesome as well, as he's such a cool character. Hopefully I've provided Arthur with more personality and depth, as well as writing a good story. Leave a review to tell me what you think!

Our upcoming episodes:

\- _Who's Afraid of a Little Flour?_

\- _The Diesel Divide_

\- _Hook, Line, and Blinker_

\- _Captain's Calamity_

\- _Wee Engines -_ Samson teases the Small Engines for being a "toy railway", but can Bert prove him wrong and save the day?


	33. Who's Afraid of a Little Flour?

**WHO'S AFRAID OF A LITTLE FLOUR?**

James nervously rolled up the overgrown branch line, tugging his orange coaches in front of him. He had just arrived on the North Western Railway, and had already been sent to recover a misdirected train from a broken-down vertical-boiler engine.

"I'd hate to end up like him..." James thought to himself. His black paint with red lining lightly reflected the sunlight as, tender-first, he approached the junction in front of the big station. He rolled into the platform and braked to a halt, whistling and gently letting off steam. The Fat Director and the Railway Board stepped out of the coaches, Mr. A.W. Dry angrily returning to the board room and the other board members following. The Fat Director winced nervously and turned back to James.

"James, thank you for acting so quickly in a crisis. I understand that this wasn't _quite_ what you were expecting when you arrived, but I'm glad you've already proven reliable." James chuckled quietly.

"Thanks, sir." The Fat Director smiled.

"Well, James, now time for your first _actual_ job; I want you to pick up trucks from the flour mill and take them to Wellsworth station." James had never worked with flour before, but didn't want to disappoint his new boss.

"Y-yes, sir!" James whistled and steamed away towards Sodor Flour Mills.

* * *

James arrived at the flour mill, where a line of Troublesome Trucks were waiting. The one at the front of the line smirked when he saw the black engine roll into the mill.

"Look at that, lads; fresh meat..." The trucks began giggling as James gently backed down onto them. The workmen were still throwing sacks of flour into the trucks from the floor above. James waited patiently, but the trucks began to jerk back and forth.

"Hey!" James wailed, but it was too late. A sack of flour flew from nearby and impaled itself on James' funnel. The black engine groaned in pain and the remains of the split flour sack slid down his smokebox. James coughed as dust flew everywhere. The trucks cackled.

"Have a happy Sodor welcome, buddy!" The lead truck snickered, and James glared.

"Be quiet! Now, come on! I can't be late with you!" James growled and rolled away in a huff, the flour trucks rattling behind him.

* * *

James dropped off his flour trucks at Wellsworth and rolled easily back to Knapford, where his next passenger train was waiting. His coaches, Annie and Clarabel, were waiting in the platform.

"My, Annie! What a day! We've carried a railway board..."

"We've visited an old station..."

"...And now we've returned to service!" The two coaches giggled. They saw James reversing in front of them.

"Come on, ladies!" James called as he was coupled to the train. Annie and Clarabel chattered excitedly.

"Certainly, James!"

"This is so exciting! Oh, Clarabel, remember to keep your brakes off, they're a bit stiff."

"Annie, do you think I just lounge about with my brakes on? Do I look like a truck to you?" James, however, had problems of his own.

"Ooh, I feel awfully stuffed up..." He groaned, but he didn't have time to think on it. The guard's whistle blew, and James started off. However, he felt himself jerk to a stop, remaining in the platform.

"Oh, sorry, James! I had my brakes on!" Clarabel called. However, James began coughing sickly as something bubbled in his smokebox.

"Ahh...CHOOOOOO!" James sneezed and flour erupted like a geyser from his funnel. A cloud of dust surrounded him as hot, wet flour rained down onto his boiler. As the dust settled, James was covered in flour from smokebox to cab, and was coughing sickly.

"Oh..." He groaned, but his troubles weren't over. He suddenly heard a whistle and saw a large blue engine roll into the platform.

" _You're_ the new engine?" He scoffed, "You're far too small to be useful. I take it you've been to the flour mill?" The big engine began laughing, leaving James blushing in embarrassment. Suddenly, however, passengers began noticing James' predicament as well, and _they_ began laughing at him too. A big green engine rolled in and saw James, and began laughing himself as well! Soon enough, everyone in the station was laughing at James.

"He's covered in flour!"

"He looks like a snowman!" James wanted to leave, but he couldn't. He could only sit in the station as everyone laughed at him.

"Why does he look so terrified? Who's afraid of a _little flour_?" A terrified James shut his eyes, sitting in the station as laughter echoed around him.

* * *

Many years later, James, now painted red, was taking a train of passengers when he arrived at Maron station. It was a lovely day, and the sun was shining off his boiler. He braked to a halt and waited patiently for his passengers to disembark. Suddenly, he heard a whistle, and Emily rolled into the station. She looked exhausted.

"Morning, James..." She panted. James raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Emily. You've been working hard, I see." Emily smiled weakly.

"I've been rushed off my wheels all week. It's no problem though." She smiled. James was worried.

"That can't be healthy, Emily...tell you what, I'm not one for extra work, but I can take your next train!"

"Really, James?"

"Certainly, Emily. Where is it?"

"The flour mill! Trucks need to be taken to the docks!" James paled.

"Erm...never mind." The guard's whistle blew, and James sped away, leaving a confused Emily behind.

* * *

Emily limped back to the yards that afternoon to take a rest. She was still wondering about her encounter with James that morning, and braked to a halt.

"James was certainly acting funny this morning..." She muttered to herself. She rolled into the water tower, and braked to a halt. She looked to her side and saw Thomas resting nearby.

"Good afternoon, Thomas." She called out, causing the tank engine to look back at her.

"Hey, Emily. What's up?"

"I have to go to the flour mill to pick up some trucks. James offered to do it for me, but then he changed his mind as soon as he found out it was at the mill. The _nerve_ of some engines! Probably didn't want to get dust on his paintwork..." Thomas chuckled.

"That's typical James; always trying to keep his paint clean. Do you need me to do it?"

"No thank you, Thomas. I'm already on my way. Thanks for the offer, though!" Emily whistled and rolled away towards the flour mill, leaving Thomas behind.

* * *

Emily picked up her trucks from the mill and was soon enough rolling along the line as quickly as she could to finish her work.

"Come on! Come on!" She called to her trucks, rattling along behind her. Suddenly, however, she felt a sharp pain and steam began hissing from her undercarriage.

"AGH!" Emily braked to a halt, the trucks ramming into her tender as she came to a sharp stop. Her driver hopped down and inspected her,

"Something's wrong with your dry pipe, Emily. We've got to go to the works to fix this; we can't do it out here. I'll call for help." Emily could only sit and wait for help.

* * *

That evening, the Fat Controller came to see the rest of the engines at Tidmouth Sheds.

"Emily has suffered damage to her dry pipe, so I'll be rearranging her duties among you all. Henry, I want you to take Emily's goods train from Brendam Docks tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!"

"Thomas, I want you, Annie, and Clarabel to take Emily's passenger trains tomorrow."

"Certainly, sir!" The tank engine grinned proudly. The Fat Controller turned to James next.

"James, you need to take Emily's train from the flour mill." The red engine's eyes widened.

"The f-flour mill, sir?"

"Yes, James."

"I-I can't, sir!"

"Why not, James? Do you not want to work with trucks?" James turned pale as every eye in the shed was on him.

"Erm..."

"Really useful engines do what they're told, James." The Fat Controller walked away, leaving the engines to drift off to sleep. However, before Thomas shut his eyes, he noticed the fearful expression on James' sleeping face.

* * *

The following day, the engines all set off to do their jobs for the day. Thomas backed into the carriage shed to fetch Annie and Clarabel.

"Morning, ladies!" He called. The coaches' eyes popped open.

"Good morning, Thomas!" Annie called.

"Yes, good morning!" Clarabel grinned.

"We have to take Emily's passengers today. She's been damaged."

"Oh no! That's awful, isn't it, Clarabel?"

"Positively dreadful, Annie. Are we doing her other jobs as well?" A shunter coupled Thomas to Annie.

"No, the other engines are all helping out with her jobs. James has to go the flour mill and complained to the Fat Controller about it. Not wanting to take trucks, I expect." However, Annie frowned.

"That's not it, Thomas. James is absolutely terrified of flour. Has been since the first day he arrived."

"Flour? Why?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"On his first day he worked at the flour mill and got flour in his smokebox. When he had to pull a train with us later, he sprayed it all over his boiler and the station."

"I've never seen an engine so embarrassed!" Clarabel added.

"He's refused to work with flour since." Annie finished gravely. Thomas looked down in guilt.

"That's horrible! I hope he's alright..."

"We can only hope." Clarabel sighed.

"Come on, Thomas. We have work to do." Annie said. Thomas, worried, rolled off to pick his passengers.

* * *

James pulled into the flour mill, and surveyed the yard. He saw some empty trucks on a siding, and reluctantly shunted them into place.

"Easy does it, heh." James shunted the trucks into place, and they began to be loaded. He looked uneasily around the mill as the flour sacks began being loaded into the trucks. The trucks saw James' trepidation over the flour, and began to laugh.

"What? Afraid of us? Or afraid of the flour?" They cackled. James bumped them hard.

"Be quiet! I'm not scared!" James was coupled up and rumbled away, still bumping the trucks hard. However, he failed to notice that as he bumped the flour trucks, one of the sacks scraped against the lead truck's frames, tearing a small hole in the side of the sack...

* * *

Thomas rolled along the line with Annie and Clarabel clattering along behind him.

"Any sign of James, Thomas?" Clarabel asked. Thomas scanned the line in front of him, but James was nowhere in sight.

"I don't see him anywhere..." Suddenly, they heard a whistle and James rolled by, hauling his train of flour trucks. He was traveling very slowly and uneasily. Thomas whistled back quickly.

"You're doing great, James!" He called, "You don't need to be scared!" James frowned.

"I'm _not_ scared! I'm not some scaredy engine!" James whistled and angrily began picking up speed, causing the trucks to jerk back and forth. Thomas winced nervously.

"Uh oh." He said, and rolled on ahead to the final stop on their train: Killdane station.

* * *

Lucian the Scenic Engine was waiting with some passengers at Killdane when he heard a familiar whistle. He was surprised to see his old friend, Thomas, roll into the platform beside him.

"Thomas! What are you doing here?" Lucian asked in joyful surprise. Thomas chuckled.

"I'm pulling Emily's train right now, so the final stop is here." Lucian grinned.

"Ah, that's great. We haven't seen each other in forever!" He laughed loud and long, but noticed Thomas' troubled expression.

"Something wrong, Thomas?" The tank engine sighed.

"Lucian, I have this...friend. He's scared of something that he has to work with today, but I don't know how to help him." Lucian chuckled.

"Ah, I get that. Fear's hard to tackle, but you have to confront it. Running from fear doesn't solve anything. I thought you of all engines would know that! You ran away from me and ended almost getting attacked by wolves!" Thomas blushed in embarrassment.

"You never told _us_ about that, Thomas." Annie raised an eyebrow. Lucian chuckled.

"I'd tell your friend that he has to confront his fear, Thomas. That's the only real way to get over it, in my opinion." Thomas grinned.

"Thanks, Lucian! I'll tell him that!" The guard's whistle blew and Thomas rolled away, pulling Annie and Clarabel behind him.

* * *

James was rushing along the line, banging the Troublesome Trucks back and forth. They giggled as their couplings were strained.

"Fraidy James! Fraidy James!" They cackled in their silly way. James glared.

"Be quiet!" He bumped them hard. His anger turned to nervousness again as he rolled along a woodland line, when he suddenly began to smell something.

"What's that?" He looked back and saw a cloud of white rising from the cackling truck nearest his tender.

"Gah!"

"Don't give us slack, you've ripped the sack! HAHAHA!" The trucks chanted, causing James to begin to pale.

"No! NO!" James braked into a halt.

"I can't do this anymore! I can't get covered in flour again!" James' driver poked his head of the cab.

"Come on, James!"

"No! Uncouple me at once! I don't want to be anywhere near these trucks when they blow!" The driver sighed, but uncoupled James nonetheless, and pulled James onto a siding covered by trees. James sighed in relief, but soon heard the loud cackle of trucks from the main line.

"BA-BOOM!" One of them called, and the others laughed. James' fear morphed into misery, as he sat on the shady siding - alone.

* * *

Thomas was returning to the big station with an empty Annie and Clarabel behind him, still looking for James.

"James! James!" He called. Annie and Clarabel called out too.

"James!"

"Where are you?" Suddenly, Thomas rounded a bend and saw an abandoned train of flour trucks ahead.

"Uh oh." He braked to a halt and scanned the area, and spotted a weak trail of steam rising from between the trees. Quietly, he reversed and switched onto the siding. Sure enough, James was sitting, looking miserable. He saw Thomas and glared.

"What do you want? Come to laugh at me?" Before Thomas could speak, James continued.

"Yes, I'm afraid of flour! I know it's stupid, and silly, but...if everyone _laughed_ at you, you'd be too!" He snapped.

"Nobody's laughing at you, James." Annie piped up. James raised an eyebrow.

"The trucks are..." He muttered.

"They're trucks! Of course they're going to laugh!" Clarabel replied. Thomas spoke up.

"You can't run away from your fear, James. The more you run, the more scared you get! I ran from Lucian and ended up having a bad accident! I know that it's hard to conquer your fear, but I can help you!" James frowned.

"I don't want to be anywhere near those trucks. I'll just get covered in flour again." Thomas sighed.

"We'll take this nice and easy, James. Just come out of the siding." Thomas began slowly reversing out of the siding, and, reluctantly, James began to follow him. Slowly, Thomas and James emerged from behind the trees, and James slowly backed into the giggling trucks. He was re-coupled up, and slowly began rolling away as Thomas switched tracks.

"Easy does it, James! You can do it!"

"Onward, James!"

"We believe in you!" Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel rolled away while James continued on towards the bakery.

"I will be on time, I will be on time..." He puffed forward, tugging the trucks behind him. The white cloud began rising from the truck again, and James groaned. However, he put on a brave face and surged onwards.

"I _have_ to be..."

* * *

James rushed along the line, the flour trucks rattling behind him as he approached the line leading up to the bakery.

"Come on, go a little faster, James! You _scared_?" A truck giggled. James frowned and looked ahead.

"I can do this..." He muttered under his breath. Up ahead, he saw the bakery and rolled to a halt in the platform. The bakery manager walked over to him.

"Splendid, James! Thank you for delivering the flour! It's just what we need for today's cakes." James' face slowly contorted into a grin. He smirked proudly.

"No problem, sir. Just doing my job!" James rolled away, feeling quite proud of himself. The troublesome trucks remained behind, scowling.

* * *

That evening, the engines were gathered at Tidmouth Sheds again when the Fat Controller arrived in Winston.

"Hello, everyone! Just wanted to say that you all did a spectacular job covering Emily's duties today, and that you'll continue to do so tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." The engines chorused. The Fat Controller returned to Winston.

"Wonderful. We've got another busy day ahead of us tomorrow!" He shut the door and drove away, leaving the engines to settle down to sleep for the night. However, as everyone drifted off to sleep, James looked to Thomas in the berth next to him.

"Psst...Thomas!" Thomas opened a sleepy eye.

"Yes, James?"

"Thanks. For helping me out with the flour today, that is."

"No problem at all, James. That's what friends are for." James chuckled as Thomas shut his eyes.

"Yeah. Who's afraid of a little flour, anyway?" James fell asleep as well. From the carriage shed nearby, Annie and Clarabel watched. They shared a glance, a wink, and drifted off to sleep themselves as the stars shone above.

 **THE END**

* * *

This one has been a long time in the making. Requested by tate310 right after The Sodor Spectre was written, and refined until now. I think it turned out like a sort of S3/S17 type "slice of life" story. Using Lucian and making reference to _Thomas & The Were-Engine _again was really fun and I loved actually putting James in the lead. Having Thomas play a big part made this seem more like a story that could actually happen, and I think exploring Annie and Clarabel's relationship with someone besides Thomas would be a great thing for the current series to do. Once again, always leave reviews!

What's next:

\- _The Diesel Divide_

 _\- Hook, Line, and Blinker_

 _\- Captain's Calamity_

 _\- Wee Engines_

 _\- Percy and the Watermill -_ Percy tries to stop the old watermill on Thomas' Branch Line from getting demolished.


	34. The Diesel Divide

**THE DIESEL DIVIDE**

"No!"

"Come on, Diesel 10, we can't keep 'olding up repairing engines just because you think they're 'steam sympathizers'! It's discriminatory and not practical!" Dart snapped, as he and Den stood just below the turntable below Diesel 10's shed. The large clawed warship snorted.

"Let me remind you that I can be as _discriminatory_ as I please, _Dart; you_ work for _me!_ " Dart stared him down.

"We've got a backlog of repairs! And last time I checked, you didn't do squat 'round here; we do all the work!" However, Den rolled forwards to interrupt Dart's rage. He spoke stoically, staring Diesel 10 in the face.

"Please, Diesel 10, erm...it's our job to repair engines. Uhh...you not letting us do that is preventing us from being useful." Diesel 10 growled as he looked down at Den.

" _I don't care._ Now get out of my face!" He returned to his shed, the door slamming while Den and Dart looked very disappointed below. Den's face twisted with anger as he left the main shed and banged into some trucks.

"He _cannot_ keep doing that! It's our job to...erm...UGH!" Dart rolled alongside.

"It's ruddy unfair, but it's just the state of the world, Den." He smiled sympathetically. Den sighed.

"It shouldn't be, Dart. You were right, what you said in there-"

"That Diesel 10 doesn't do anything around here? Yeah, I know. If it were up to me, we wouldn't need 'im as a 'leader' at all." Den and Dart moved towards the foundry at the back of the yard, where BoCo was sitting on a siding.

"Any luck, gents?" BoCo asked. Dart sighed.

"Sorry, BoCo. 'e's still not ready for ya." BoCo looked upset.

"That's a shame. Tell me when he is." Den and Dart shared a glance and began rolling away. However, as Dart returned to the yard, Den braked to a halt and looked at BoCo thoughtfully. Slowly, he returned to BoCo, and began discretely shunting him into the workshops. The diesel raised an eyebrow.

"I thought he wasn't ready for me?"

"He doesn't have to be." Den and BoCo disappeared into the darkness, the door slamming behind them.

* * *

A few hours later, BoCo emerged from the workshops as good as new. He rolled out of the workshops, and tooted his horn proudly.

"Thanks, Den! It'll be great to get back to work!" As the large diesel rolled away, Den grinned.

"You're welcome, BoCo! Come back anytime!" Den grinned, not knowing that a familiar clawed diesel was watching from the shadows. Said diesel slunk away into the darkness once he saw BoCo leave. Den smiled proudly, and Dart rolled alongside with a raised eyebrow.

"'Ow'd 'e get fixed?" Den smirked.

"We don't have to listen to Diesel 10 anymore, Dart. I'm going to make repairs to any diesel who comes our way, whether he likes it or not." Den began moving forward to shunt some trucks, when he suddenly heard a familiar horn and Salty slowly rolled into the Dieselworks.

"Ahoy, Den! Dart!" Den grinned proudly, while Dart remained more nervous.

"What can we do ya for, mate?" The smaller shunter asked. Salty chuckled.

"Faulty brakes, mate. I'd just like to get them looked over." Dart was about to speak, but Den cut him off.

"Right away, Salty. Just come on in." Salty rolled onto the turntable and rose into the air, while Den looked at his brakes. Dart rolled alongside.

"Den, are you crazy? Diesel 10 will 'ave your 'ide for doing this!"

"Like you said, Dart, he does nothing around here, we don't need him as a leader!"

"Yeah, but, Den..."

"My word, Salty! Your brakes are more worn down than I've ever seen them! What have you been doing?"

"Ay, must be the sea air, matey." Den began reversing.

"Erm, no prob then, Salty. I'll go and get some spare brakes from around the back." He left the shed, leaving a very worried Dart behind.

* * *

Den rolled into the part of the yard where they kept their spare parts, searching for brakes.

"Brakes, brakes, brakes..." However, he saw something that made him brake to a stop.

"Uh oh." Diesel 10 was sitting next to truck full of parts, scowling. His claw's teeth gnashed together as he stared Den down.

" _Den._ I couldn't help noticing that you let our friend, _BoCo_ the steam sympathizer, get his repairs. I _very specifically_ requested that you _not_ repair him. I'm the boss, Den, and you don't _ever_ forget it." However, to his surprise, Den stared him down without an ounce of fear in his eyes.

"Start pulling your weight, then we can talk." He said simply. Diesel 10 guffawed.

" _Excuse_ me?"

"You heard me. Now, if you excuse me, I have to take those parts you're next to to fix Salty's brakes. Move please." Den pushed forwards, but Diesel 10 smirked.

"Ooh, you mean _these_ parts?" He asked, using his claw to gesture to the trucks next to him. Den glared.

" _Yes._ " Diesel 10's smirk turned to a look of pure fury. He quickly used his claw to grab the truck full of parts by its frames, and lift it high into the air. He smashed it into the ground, causing wood to fly everywhere. The spare parts clunked onto the ground, Diesel 10 grabbing a large amount of them in his claw, and looking Den in the eyes as he ground them into mangled shadows of their former selves. Den was now furious, as Diesel 10 stared him down with extraordinary malice.

" _That'll be you if you question me again._ " Den, face twisted with rage, reversed, leaving Diesel 10 behind with mangled truck and parts.

* * *

Salty's repairs being postponed meant that some engines' schedules had to be moved around. BoCo was sent to work at Brendam Docks, and as a result Diesel 10 was to receive an assignment of his own. Mr. Renchmore, the Dieselworks manager, came up to Diesel 10 as he rested in the yard.

"Alright, Diesel 10. You need to take BoCo's slow goods along the main line to Tidmouth." Diesel 10 raised an eyebrow.

"Surely, you're not serious! I'm too tall!" Renchmore raised an eyebrow.

"You're the only engine available, so suck it up." Diesel 10 growled.

"You're the only engine available, nyeh!" He mocked under his breath, using his claw like a puppet. Grumbling furiously, he rolled away.

* * *

Diesel 10 rolled along the line with his long, heavy train. The trucks banged together as he sped along.

"Ouch! Ouch! Stop going so fast!"

"Ah, shut up." Suddenly, Diesel 10 saw a bridge ahead, and groaned.

"I told Renchmore! I'm too tall!" He braked to a halt, as his claw was too tall to fit under the low bridge. He groaned.

"Great! Of all the rotten things to happen!" He angrily punched the low bridge with his claw, failing to notice that a few bricks had come loose and were now on the line above!

* * *

Logan the Industrial Engine was rolling along the line with a long coal train, with Hector the Hopper coupled behind him.

"Easy does it, Logan! This is a rowdy bunch!" Logan chuckled.

"I know, Hector! I'm not blind!" The coal trucks surged against Hector, and thus against Logan.

"Whoa!" Logan began picking up speed as he approached the bridge. Hector saw some bricks on the line!

"Logan! Stop!" Logan saw the bricks and screwed his brakes on tight.

"Help!" He cried. He hit the bricks with a bump, and although he and Hector remained on the rails, the remaining trucks burst through the weakened bridge, and rained down onto Diesel 10 below, covering him in coal.

"Agh!" His claw slammed into his face due to the weight of the coal. Once everything had stopped falling, Diesel 10 coughed sickly.

"Oh..." Up on the bridge, Logan and Hector shared a glance.

"Whoops." Logan winced. Hector sighed.

"We better get help." The duo rolled on ahead to do just that.

* * *

It didn't take long for Logan and Hector to return with Rocky, and for 'Arry and Bert to arrive to take Diesel 10 back to the Dieselworks.

"Don't worry, boss. We got you!" Bert chuckled as he coupled up to the larger diesel's rear buffers with 'Arry in front. Diesel 10 growled.

"I need to get fixed. Take me to the main shed as soon as we get to the Dieselworks." 'Arry grinned.

"Certainly, mate!" They began returning to the Dieselworks, not knowing what awaited them.

* * *

'Arry and Bert shunted the coal-covered Diesel 10 into the Dieselworks, where Salty passed by with his new brakes in.

"Ahoy, Diesel 10!" He honked his horn, causing Diesel 10 to growl in anger. The Ironworks twins dropped him outside the main shed, and rolled away, leaving Diesel 10 by himself. The clawed diesel growled and moved, under his own power, into the shed. Den was on the turntable, and turned around to face Diesel 10.

"Oh, hello, Diesel 10." He said, completely neutral. Diesel 10 growled.

"Shut up and fix me. I need to get back to management." Den stared Diesel 10 in the face.

"No."

" _No!?_ "

"I'm sick and tired of you making Dart and I wait to fix diesels just because they're civil to steam engines! So, I'm not going to fix you until you learn your lesson!" Diesel 10's face contorted with rage as Den stared him down.

"I _warned_ you!" Den's eyes shut as Diesel 10 wound up his claw to attack Den. However, as he tried to lunge forwards, the claw suddenly stopped. Diesel 10's rage turned to confusion.

"What? Come on, Pinchy, you stupid thing!" Diesel 10 strained, but his claw wouldn't go forwards. Den's fear morphed into a smile.

"It _doesn't_ work! Haha!" He laughed, but Diesel 10's growl cut him off.

" _Fix it and I won't tear you apart!_ " Den smirked.

"You can't threaten me anymore! Without that claw, you're powerless!" Diesel 10 growled.

"What are _you_ going to do about it? You're barely articulate without Dart around!" Den scowled. After a period of silence, he spoke sharply.

"Get out."

"What?"

"GET. OUT. NOW." Diesel 10, angrily, began reversing.

"Fine! But you're helpless without me! Just watch everything fall apart! You'll be _begging_ me to come back!"

"I doubt it!" As Diesel 10 disappeared around the front gate, Den's anger turned to horror as Dart rolled alongside.

"Den, was that Diesel 10?" Den's eyes widened with horror.

"What have I done?"

* * *

That evening, Den and Dart called a meeting of the diesels. Diesels from all over the island gathered in the cramped Dieselworks. As the buzz of the crowd sounded out, Den and Dart rolled out onto the turntable and rose into the air.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" Den called, but Dart rolled forward and shouted.

"DIESELS!" He bellowed. Everyone quieted down, and Dart began to speak.

"So, all of you are probably wondering why we've called everyone here-"

"Yeah! Why are you two up there instead of Diesel 10?" Diesel called out. Dart glared at him.

"This meeting is _about_ Diesel 10! Can we please-"

"Can we hurry this up? I have an evening express to pull!" Bear spoke up.

"And I've got to go back to the quarry!" Mavis put in.

"Diesel 10 usually manages these meetings; where is he?" Sidney asked loudly.

"Sidney, Dart just expressed that the subject of this gathering _is_ the clawed Warship you just referred to." Norman replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh. I forgot." Den looked to Dart, who honked his horn loudly.

"GUYS!" The other diesels quieted down and looked to Dart.

"Diesel 10 will no longer be working at the Dieselworks, so we need to figure out how we will conduct ourselves without a leader." There was hubbub among the diesels.

"No longer working here?"

"This is ridiculous!" Dart honked again.

"If anyone has any idea-" Suddenly, he heard a horn and Devious Diesel rolled forwards.

"If I could speak, Dart." He oiled. Dart rolled his eyes and reversed. The turntable descended and Diesel got on and rose into the air.

"Friends! Diesels! Countrymen!" He called.

" _Touché._ " Norman muttered under his breath.

"We now must have a new leader, and I propose that the one who takes this role be someone who can run the show, and show those steamers who is _really_ revolutionary around here!" He smirked proudly.

"Who's that, Diesel?" Paxton asked loudly from the audience. Diesel glared.

"I mean _me,_ you idiots! We can't keep letting the steam engines push us around! It's about time we showed them who the _real_ revolutionary engines are!" 'Arry and Bert cheered, with a clearly uneasy Paxton and Norman joining in, but BoCo rolled forwards.

"Diesel, why are we actively opposing the steam engines? It's not productive, and aren't we all just engines? I have several very dear friends that are steam engines! I'm sure that we could work with them in peace, but we should focus on improving the tools around here at the Dieselworks to allow us to work to our full capacity! I was kept waiting for weeks to fix a few loose bolts!" Den and Dart shared a glance. However, Diesel growled.

"We can't _get_ better facilities until we push the steamies out!" BoCo rolled his eyes.

"Not surprising..." He muttered.

"Oh, I think you'll find I'm _full_ of surprises." Diesel rolled towards the turntable to look down on BoCo.

"You owe me a tenner." Mavis whispered to Salty, who groaned.

"You're juvenile and immature, Diesel! We need to get better tools!"

"Push out the steamies!"

"Get better tools!"

"Steamies!"

"Tools!"

"Steamies!"

"Tools!" The Dieselworks slowly turned into an all-out shouting match, with engines from both sides screaming their sides at each other.

"Steamies!" 'Arry snapped.

"Tools!" Bear shot back.

"Steamies!" Bert yelled at Norman.

"Yes, Steamies!" Norman yelled back nervously.

"Tools!" Salty shouted.

"Yes, tools indeed!" Norman replied. The two other diesels glared at him as he grinned nervously.

"Tools!" Everyone looked to Class 40's shout, and the larger diesel blushed in embarrassment.

"Heh, I mean steamies! Yeah, I'm a _true_ diesel through and through!" He shouted in a deep voice. The fighting resumed. Dart was about to honk his horn again, but Den rolled forwards and blasted his horn as loud as he could.

"STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!" He bellowed. The diesels all silenced. Den looked at them sternly.

"It's clear that no one is ready to _articulate_ their ideas, so I am going to dismiss this meeting until we are all ready to display our ideas in a meaningful and thoughtful manner!" The diesels remained very silent for a moment, frozen in their spats.

"What?" Sidney asked loudly. Dart growled.

"What 'e means is...GET OUT!" He screeched. Quietly, two groups of diesels began leaving the sheds. One, led by BoCo, consisted of Salty, Mavis, Bear, Philip, and a discrete Class 40. The other group, led by Diesel, consisted of 'Arry, Bert, a very reluctant Paxton and Norman, and a lost-looking Sidney. The two factions split off, leaving Den and Dart alone in the Dieselworks. Den sighed.

"What have I done? Diesel 10 was right. He's the only one who kept everyone in order..." He rolled sadly away, leaving an even sadder Dart behind.

* * *

Diesel 10 rumbled along the Norramby branch line, grumbling furiously and covered in coal.

"Great. I swear, when I get back to the Dieselworks, I'm going to tear that smarty pants sentinel apart." As if on cue, his claw writhed with a sound of grinding metal.

"If I ever get Pinchy to work again..." He muttered. Up ahead, Arthur was coming up the line with some passengers when Diesel 10 passed on the other line. He gaped as the large diesel passed.

"Whoa!" He cried, but Diesel 10 kept going.

"I've already got _one_ bad engine to deal with on this line, I don't need another..." Arthur muttered as Diesel 10 approached Norramby station.

* * *

Jeb the Camelback Engine was not happy. He stared bitterly at the parking boot on his front wheel, remembering the words that _stupid_ pink tank engine had practically spat in his face at the Steamworks.

 _"I completely forgot."_

"I should be a free engine, and I'm stuck here like an impounded car just because Pinky forgot to tell the cops that _I_ gave them Slim Jim on a silver platter!" He complained to Bonnie the Boxcar, who rolled her eyes.

"Will ya can it, Jeb? Stationary life ain't so bad! A good view, business is boomin', what more could ya want?" Jeb glared back at Bonnie.

"Freedom, you _idiot_!" He snapped. Bonnie snorted.

"You'd just go back to ya old ways, Jebbie. Ya can't be trusted. Dat's da facts for ya." She giggled, leaving Jeb to roll his eyes and continue staring out into space. Suddenly, the former Rail Bandits heard a horn, and Jeb's jaw dropped.

"What is _that?_ " Bonnie gasped, perplexed. Jeb's eyes were tearing up.

"It's _beautiful!_ " The two were ogling Diesel 10's claw as the Warship cruised into the station to refuel. Jeb smirked and began a low laugh that he hadn't forced out of his throats in months. Bonnie's eyes widened with concern.

"Um, you good, Jebbie?" The camelback's smirk had turned into a malicious, toothy grin.

"Pretty sharp, ain't it, Bon?" He giggled darkly. His eyes snapped to the parking boot.

"Sharp enough for FREEDOM!" He chuckled giddily and called out to the large diesel.

"Excuse me? You, with the claw! Can you spare a bit of your time?" He called across the yard. Diesel 10 raised an eyebrow and rolled over to satisfy his curiosity.

"What do you want?" He demanded. Jeb grinned; now was his chance to work his charm.

"That's a mighty hefty instrument ya got there on your roof. How strong is that thing? You ever snapped wood with it? Stone? Iron?" Diesel 10 smirked.

"Shunter's play." However, his smirk turned to a frown. "Or, at least, it _was,_ until some stupid bridge and coal roughed it up. Now I can't use it anymore because I got kicked out of the Dieselworks and can't fix it." Jeb frowned.

"Ain't that a darn shame, buddy." He sighed, "But, if you ever get it fixed, come by here again! You see, I have a bit of an offer-" Diesel 10's laugh cut the camelback engine off.

"Sorry, 'pal', but I don't do charity for steam engines." He began rolling away, putting Jeb into a panic.

"Wait!" Diesel 10 groaned and braked.

"What?" Jeb searched his head for a bluff and spoke.

"I-I can fix that claw of your's!" The warship reversed slowly until he was alongside Jeb.

"I'm listening." Jeb grinned.

"Give me a chance to look at that claw of yours, and I'm sure I can tell you what the problem is!" Diesel 10 rolled his eyes, and strained hard to manipulate his claw to be right in Jeb's line of sight. The camelback engine looked and saw chunks of coal all over the claw's joints.

"All you need is a good cleansing! We can do it right here if you want!" Diesel 10 rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead." Jeb smirked.

"Excuse me!" He called to some workmen, "Could you please give my good friend here a cleaning of his hydraulic claw?" The men nodded and got to work after setting up ladders on Diesel 10's sides.

* * *

Eventually, the men finished the job, and Diesel 10 moved around his claw with ease. He chuckled darkly, which turned into a full-on laugh as he held the claw to the skies,

"At last, my arm is complete again!" He cackled, his claw's jaws moving up and down as he did so. Jeb smirked proudly.

"Pretty good handywork, eh? Now, fair's fair. Since I scratched your back, you gotta scratch mine. You see, I got this little problem on my front wheel..." However, to Jeb's shock, Diesel 10 began rolling away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Diesel 10 laughed as he rolled away.

"I don't do charity for steamies, remember?" Jeb's jaw dropped as Bonnie giggled behind him. Diesel 10 cackled, snapping his claw when suddenly he heard something that made him slam his brakes on.

"You have nowhere to go!" He reversed angrily.

"Excuse me?" Jeb smirked; he now had him in his grasp.

"You said you got kicked out of the Dieselworks. You're the diesel who ran that place, so you have nowhere to go." Diesel 10 snorted.

"And I suppose you have some sort of _magical_ alternative for me?" Jeb grinned.

"That I do. Do you want to know how I got stuck here with a parking boot on my wheel? I was a member of one of the most successful railway criminal groups of the last century, and we made _bank_ on the stuff we sold. Our strategy was to rush, take, and run. And it worked! We carried our routine on for two-and-a-half decades over twelve countries on two continents, and we only got caught a few months ago because of some stupid dock tank and some paintings." Diesel 10 snorted.

"What does this have to do with me?" Jeb chuckled.

"What does an engine do when he has no options? When he's stuck in a rut with nowhere to go? When nothing the law will allow gives him an option? Simple; he turns to crime. You're practically _built_ to be a thief! All you need is a guide, and who better to be that guide than me? I could teach you everything necessary to be one of the most feared thieves on the continent! And all _you_ have to do is use your claw to break off this parking boot on my wheels! Whaddaya say?" Diesel 10 raised an eyebrow and thought about it for a moment. Soon enough, he extended his claw to Jeb's wheels and strained hard around the parking boot until it came off with a loud "SNAP". Jeb grinned and looked as his free wheel.

"Free...I'm FREE! HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He cackled, eventually quieting down. He grinned.

"Come back tomorrow, and we'll begin!" Diesel 10 smirked and rolled away to find a goods shed to sleep in. Jeb stared at his free wheel and chuckled darkly.

"This could be the start of a _beautiful_ friendship..." He grinned maliciously, leaving Bonnie to roll her eyes.

* * *

Rosie the Dock Tank Engine was steaming along the Main Line with a train of trucks for Brendam Docks. The weather was good, and her trucks were well-behaved. Suddenly, at a signal ahead, she saw BoCo with a China clay train and whistled cheerfully as she rolled alongside.

"Morning, BoCo!" She smiled, but was surprised to see the pensive frown on BoCo's face.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, worried. BoCo snapped out of his pensive trance and looked to Rosie.

"Oh, sorry, Rosie. I've just had a few things on my mind lately. I-" Suddenly, a loud horn sounded out and Diesel sped by, blowing exhaust in BoCo's face. The other diesel coughed loudly as Diesel cackled by. BoCo frowned as his signal dropped and rolled away, leaving Rosie very perplexed.

* * *

As Rosie rolled along throughout her duties, she noticed the diesels were all acting very strange. She passed Mavis and Bert at the washdown, where they were having a loud argument.

"I got here first!"

"No, you didn't!"

"I'm right, so I get to go first!" Rosie raised an eyebrow; she had never seen the diesels act so hostile to one another before!

* * *

At Knapford, Toby the Tram Engine was pulling in after bringing some workmen from the quarry when he noticed something from across the yard.

"'Arry! Paxton! Leave me alone!" Toby's eyes darted across the yard and saw the two diesels cornering Philip on a siding.

"That's what you _get_ for playing for the wrong team, kid!" 'Arry cackled, while Paxton just laughed nervously. Quickly, Toby was uncoupled from Henrietta and sped across the yard. Henrietta was alarmed!

"Toby, where are you going?" The tram engine rolled to halt beside 'Arry, Paxton, and Philip and rang his bell, stopping the larger diesels in their tracks.

"Is there a problem here, guys?" He asked sternly. 'Arry growled.

"Stay out of this, old man. It's ain't none of your business." Philip whimpered in fear, and Toby scowled.

"Philip is my friend, so it is very muchmy business. Now buzz off before I make you!" 'Arry glared and began reversing away.

"Come on, Pax. 'E ain't worth our time anyways." Paxton smiled sheepishly at Toby before reversing away to join 'Arry. Philip gave a sigh of relief as soon as the two were out of sight.

"Thanks, Toby. I thought I was a goner!" Toby smiled.

"No problem at all, Philip. Though I would really like to know why they were picking on you in the first place." He said, raising an eyebrow. Philip strained hard in thought.

"Well, I don't really understand what actually is going on, but Diesel 10 left the Dieselworks and now everyone is fighting!" Toby raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. Well, Philip, if they try to pick on you again, come and see me." Philip smiled.

"Thanks, Toby!" He honked his horn and sped away to shunt some trucks. Toby sighed and returned to the platform, where Henrietta was still waiting.

"What was that about, Toby?" She asked. Toby sighed, but before he could speak, he heard a loud whistle and Rosie rolled into the platform alongside him.

"Toby, have you noticed anything funny going on with the diesels? They've been acting really strange all day." Toby frowned.

"Whatever it is, it could cause trouble for everyone..."

* * *

At the Dieselworks, Den and Dart were mulling over their options.

"Well, is one side bigger than the other?"

"No, no...it's six on each."

"Well...can we get everyone in separate parts of the works?"

"No, that won't solve anything! Dart, please, let me think!" Dart glared as Den rammed into some trucks to allow himself to think.

"Fine! You know what, fine! Mr. Genius, are we? Just keep on thinking of ideas without me, that's fine!" Den braked to see a hurt Dart rolling away.

"Dart, wait!" Den reversed quickly to see Dart pouting in the workshops.

"You always leave me out of coming up with your _brilliant_ plans! Well, newsflash, Den, it's _your_ fault we're in this mess!" Den frowned.

"You said you wanted him out just as much as I did!" Dart glared.

"That doesn't mean I was going to _do_ anything about it! 'E kept everyone from losing their minds, and it's all because you couldn't keep your mouth shut for once!" Den groaned loudly.

"It's _not_ my fault!"

"Well, you got _my_ vote!" Den's face snapped from anger to euphoria.

"Vote! Dart, you're a genius!" Dart raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Den grinned.

"Well, if everyone could vote on issues, then, well, what I mean is..."

"What you mean is that everyone could contribute their opinion! Brilliant, Den! I'll call everyone here and we can tell them!" Dart rolled away, leaving Den to chuckle while trying to think of a way to articulate his thoughts.

* * *

When Den and Dart had rounded up the other diesels, they proposed their idea to them.

"...and everyone could contribute!" Den finished. There was murmuring among the diesels, before Bear spoke up.

"I wouldn't be shocked if _Devious_ Diesel rigged these votes in his favor!" He quipped, causing BoCo and Mavis to laugh. Diesel growled.

" _Real_ mature, Bear. Though you lot would probably lose your votes from you hiding them in your cave!" Soon enough, the Dieselworks had erupted into noise again until Den honked.

"Guys! Come back tomorrow and be prepared to have _actual_ discussion!" The factions left again, leaving Den to sigh in anguish. Dart chuckled and rolled alongside.

"Don't worry, Den, I'm sure they'll come around." Den sighed.

"I hope..."

* * *

The following morning, Diesel 10 returned to Norramby as promised. Jeb grinned proudly as Diesel 10 listened intently for his instructions.

"Alright, Diesel 10. You have to listen to _everything_ I say! I'll be sure to lead you down the right path. After all, what are friends for?" He winked, and began his explanation, causing Diesel 10 to roll away to obey his every instruction.

 _You've got a friend in me_

 _You've got a friend in me_

Diesel 10 rolled alongside Donald and Douglas with some loaded trucks and discretely used his claw to lift the tarpaulin, smirking at the contents; precious iron bars.

 _When the road looks rough ahead_

 _And you're miles and miles_

 _From your nice warm bed_

Quickly, he used his claw to snatch the iron bars and place them in his own trucks. Donald and Douglas were completely unaware.

 _You just remember what your old pal said_

 _Yeah, you've got a friend in me_

 _Boy you've got a friend in me_

Smirking, he backed away, leaving Donald and Douglas with empty trucks, unbeknownst to them. When he returned and showed Jeb his handiwork, the camelback engine grinned proudly and gave him more instructions.

 _You've got a friend_ _in me_

 _You've got a friend in me_

Next, Diesel 10 rolled alongside Stanley, resting at a signal. Discretely, he maneuvered his claw around until it was near Stanley's coupling hook, and snapped the chain clean in half.

 _You've got your troubles, I've got em too_

 _There isn't anything, I wouldn't do for you_

Stanley, completely unaware, cheerfully rolled away, leaving a chuckling Diesel 10 to steal his trucks.

 _We stick together and see it through_

 _Cause you've got a friend in me_

 _Y_ _ou've got a friend in me_

When Diesel 10 returned to hide his trucks again, Jeb grinned proudly at him. When he reversed, he heard Jeb clear his throat. He looked at the camelback, who stared at his wheel, and Diesel 10 understood.

 _Now some other folks might be_

 _A little smarter than I am_

 _Or bigger and stronger, too_

When nighttime came, Diesel 10 coupled up to Jeb and pulled him forwards, causing his wheels to move for the first time in months. Jeb groaned in pain, but Diesel 10 grinned at him, and Jeb soon enough reciprocated. Sitting in the platform, Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

 _But none of them will ever love you_

 _The way I do, boy_

Diesel 10 and Jeb looked at the night sky together. Slowly, their malicious smirks turned to genuine smiles as they grinned at each other.

 _And as the years go by_

 _Our_ _friendship will never die_

 _You're gonna see, it's our destiny_

Ryan rolled in the Shunting Yards to fetch a train. He saw it, looked away, and was surprised to see it was gone! Of course, he failed to see Diesel 10 sneaking away with it.

 _You've got a friend in me_

 _You've got a friend in me_

 _You've got a friend in me_

Diesel 10 returned with his final train, and Jeb smirked proudly at his student. Bonnie raised an eyebrow again, looking to the increasingly conspicuous line of trucks in the sheds.

* * *

As business boomed at the Knickknack Emporium during the day, Jeb grinned widely. Bonnie looked around, before dully spitting out a question.

"Why are ya in such a good mood, Jeb?" The camelback engine grinned.

"I see a bit of myself in him, you know. Never thought I would be saying that about a freak of nature clawed diesel, but it's a great thought." As Jeb grinned sentimentally, Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Jeb, I have no idea how ya are expecting dis to end, but you remembah da conditions of our parole, right?" Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"What about them?"

"Dat if we violate our parole, we get tossed in an impound lot!" Jeb's face paled.

"WHAT?" Thoughts buzzed around his head.

"I can't get linked to this! Continuing Slim Jim's business is prison enough! I can blame it on 10! But he'll just link it back to me..." Suddenly, his face lit up.

"I'm not trapped here anymore..." He chuckled darkly, as a twisted idea began to form in his twisted head.

* * *

That evening, Diesel 10 came by again, and Jeb relayed his plan.

"There's not much more this island can give us...so, I think we should take the stuff we have and get the heck out of here. Sell it on the mainland and then move on to fry bigger and better fish!" Jeb finished. However, to his surprise, Diesel 10 frowned.

"There's one more job we need to pull off first, Jeb." Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What would that be?" Diesel 10 smirked and began chuckling in a low voice.

"It's _personal._ " The two engines began laughing maniacally into the night, and they slowly put their plan into action...

* * *

At the Dieselworks, the diesels were meeting again over the subject of voting. Tensions were mounting once again, and Den and Dart were beginning to get annoyed.

"...rigging these votes!"

"Oh, that's just like you, BoCo!"

"Can I _speak_ without you attacking me, Diesel?" As the diesels argued, Diesel 10 slunk into the Dieselworks, with Jeb coupled behind him. Jeb smirked.

"Alright, Diesel 10, what do you have for us, buddy?" Diesel 10 chuckled.

"Scrap. Scrap as far as you can see. We could make a fortune off this stuff..." Jeb grinned.

"I like the way you think." Quickly, Diesel 10 shunted the trucks of scrap iron into a line. However, he spotted a train of fresh parts and chuckled.

"This'll be _good._ " Quickly, he coupled himself up to the parts using his claw, and slowly began reversing away with Jeb. The camelback engine laughed as the cavalcade departed.

"Alright, Diesel 10! Let's get out of here, and then we'll be the richest engine around!" Jeb cackled, and Diesel 10 joined him as they disappeared into the night.

* * *

In the Dieselworks, the diesels heard the duo's laughs and instantly tuned into it.

"What's that?" Paxton asked. Quickly, BoCo, Class 40, Den, Dart, Diesel, and Norman sped outside to find the fresh parts completely gone! BoCo gaped.

"I cannot believe you would stoop this low, Diesel!" Diesel glared.

"You think _I_ did this? You must be full of it, BoCo, because I-" Soon enough, all the diesels were arguing again, and Dart looked to Den. Den, however, was trying to think of a plan, and Dart slowly boiled over. Finally, he honked his horn as loud as he could.

"GUYS! SHUT UP!" The diesels all became quiet. Den watched, impressed.

"We can't keep fighting over stupid little things! Some guy stole our parts, and we 'ave to get 'em back! This affects everyone, so we _really_ should not be arguing over it!" The diesels looked guilty around at each other, before Class 40 spoke up.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Everyone looked to Den, but Den chuckled.

"Dart seems to have a plan, guys. I think you should let _him_ lead this one." The diesels looked to Dart, who smiled at Den, and began explaining his plan.

* * *

The following morning, Bonnie awoke to find Jeb and Diesel 10 sitting in the platform next to her with a long line of trucks. She gaped.

"What da heck are you clowns doin'?" She asked, bewildered. Jeb smirked.

"Getting out of here! Bye-bye, Bon! Come on, Diesel 10! We got a whole new world to explore now! HAHA!" Diesel 10 honked his horn and Bonnie gaped as the long train, with the dynamic duo at the head, departed from Norramby.

"You have gotta be kiddin' me!" She groaned. As the cavalcade departed, Arthur came approaching on the other line. Jeb smirked as he blew his whistle loudly.

"Outta the way, Artie!" He called loudly. Arthur braked to a halt in shock as the long train thundered by.

"C-call the police!" Arthur cried, and sped towards Norramby. Jeb and Diesel 10 thundered up the branch line, and approached the main.

* * *

Jeb and Diesel 10 were soon enough on the main line, with their long train behind them.

"Ya know, buddy, we're going to do great things! With my brains, and your strength, we'll be absolutely unstoppable!" Diesel 10 smirked.

"You are the absolute best thing to happen to me, Jeb."

"Aw, stop it."

"I mean it! Running the Dieselworks was absolutely exhausting. It's liberating to actually be so free!" Jeb raised an eyebrow as they rolled along.

"Ya think those diesels are going to be miffed that we stole their stuff?" Diesel 10 scoffed.

" _Puh-lease_. They are completely lost without me! I'd be surprised if they even noticed it was gone!" The two thieves laughed, but a low rumble sounded out that startled them both. Jeb looked around, worried.

"Ya here that, pal?" Suddenly, they heard loud shouting and something rammed into the rear of the train. Diesel 10 gasped in pain.

"What?"

"GIVE US OUR PARTS, THIEVES!" At the rear of the train, a long line of diesel shunters consisting of Philip, Norman, Sidney, Paxton, Mavis, Diesel, and Dart at the front repeatedly rammed into the trucks. Jeb groaned.

"What the heck is going on back there?" They heard a loud horn from the rear.

"Push 'arder, guys!" Dart called, as the train began to pick up speed. Diesel 10 growled.

"Buzz off, you stupid bugs!" However, they approached a junction, where a long line of empty trucks was poking out of a siding. The diesels rapidly blew their horns and the trucks began to move, being pushed by Den, BoCo, Bear, Class 40, Salty, 'Arry, and Bert. Jeb's eyes widened as the trucks soared from the siding.

"AGH! STOP, DIESEL 10!" But it was too late. The trucks ploughed into the space between Jeb and Diesel 10, knocking both engines off the rails and blocking the junction. Jeb fell into a muddy puddle with a loud "SPLASH", and Diesel 10 fell into the ballast beside him. There was a long silence, but every diesel (except Diesel 10) present broke out into a cheer.

"We did it!" Philip cried, and the diesels all cheered with him. However, they suddenly heard a whistle, and Gordon was sitting at the junction with the express.

"What happened here? The line is blocked!" He groaned. The diesels looked at each other, and went to clean up the mess, Jeb and Diesel 10 still groaning in their accident.

* * *

Den and Dart soon enough returned with Rocky to clean up the mess while the other diesels returned to work. Soon enough, the trucks had been taken away by BoCo and Diesel to return the stolen goods to their rightful owners, and all that was left was to rescue Jeb and Diesel 10. As Rocky lifted Jeb into the air and back onto the rails, he and Diesel 10 argued bitterly.

"Ya _had_ to mess with your old buddies, didn't ya?" Jeb growled to Diesel 10, who was still lying in the ballast.

"Oh, shut up." Diesel 10 groaned. Suddenly, they heard a whistle and a horn, and Rosie and Roy the Police Buggy pulled up to the cleanup crew.

"Well, well, Jeb. Couldn't stay out of crime for long, eh?" Roy raised an eyebrow, causing Jeb to glare.

"Haha, very funny, Roy. What's my punishment? Back at Norramby with another parking boot?" Roy shared a glance with Rosie as the tank engine backed onto Jeb's tender.

"You'll see when you get there, Jeb." Jeb's eyes widened.

"Wait, no!" Rosie began pulling on Jeb's rear coupling and the duo rolled away. Jeb screamed the entire way.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, PINKY!"

"Oh, be quiet, Jeb."

"THIS ISN'T OVER! I SWEAR IT'S NOT! I-" Rosie and Jeb disappeared around a bend, leaving Den, Dart, a newly rescued Diesel 10, and Roy behind. Roy cleared his throat.

"Well, Diesel 10, don't think you're getting off scot-free. You will be serving a period of house arrest at the Dieselworks. Den, Dart, I trust you two to handle him?"

"Certainly, Roy." Den replied, and he and Dart coupled up on either side of Diesel 10 and began shunting the grumbling larger diesel home.

* * *

At the Dieselworks, the diesels had all gathered again when Den and Dart arrived with Diesel 10. There was a silence as the duo shunted their former leader onto the turntable and he rose into the air. Diesel 10 limped into his shed, and Den spoke.

"Alright, everyone. Seeing as we now have an odd number of engines, I think it's time we took our vote for the future of the Dieselworks." However, Diesel raised an eyebrow and spoke out.

"An odd number? We have the same number of voters as before!" Den looked to Diesel 10.

"No, we have Diesel 10 now!" Class 40 scoffed loudly.

"Are you serious? He just tried to take everything we need! Why would we allow him to make decisions with us?" The other diesels murmured in agreement. However, Dart rolled forwards.

"Guys, Diesel 10 is a diesel, just like all of us. And look at what we all did today! With everyone working together, we managed to get our parts back! That couldn't 'ave been done without everyone's contribution! And now, all diesels need to contribute, even Diesel 10." The diesels murmured again, and Diesel 10 raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Huh." He muttered. Den smiled.

"Well said, Dart! Now, everyone, erm, well, I mean..."

"What you mean is, we'll take the vote for the future of the Dieselworks now." Dart finished. Den chuckled back. Dart spoke up again.

"All those in support of competing with the steam engines, 'onk now." The horns of Diesel, 'Arry, Bert, Paxton, and Norman sounded out. Diesel cleared his throat and Sidney honked his horn as well. Dart raised an eyebrow.

"Six. Now, those in support of improving our facilities, 'onk now." The horns of BoCo, Philip, Bear, Mavis, Salty, and with some hesitation, Class 40, sounded out. However, suddenly, another horn was heard; Diesel 10's. The diesels looked to him in astonishment.

"Some of them are quite clever." He said simply. Den and Dart grinned at each other.

"With seven votes to six, we will improve our facilities in the future!" As the diesels began excitedly discussing how to improve the Dieselworks, Den and Dart were finally at ease. It was a new day for the diesels. All of them.

 **THE E-**

* * *

"WAIT, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!" Jeb wailed as Rosie left Norramby. He was now on the other side of Bonnie compared to where he was before, and was now facing the sea.

"Sorry, Jeb. Police orders!" Jeb growled as Rosie was out of sight, staring at his undercarriage in anguish. Bonnie chuckled at Jeb's plight.

"Well, Jebbie, I guess you're here to stay for good!" She laughed loudly at Jeb stared down at his driving wheels, parking boots on all four. He growled in anger and began cackling in an unstable way.

"THIS ISN'T THE END OF ME, SODOR! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR TRACKS! BECAUSE I WILL GET MY REVENGE! I'M COMING FOR YOU! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

Somehow, I doubt that. Don't you?

 **THE END**

* * *

This is the longest episode I've ever written, and what an episode it was! I got to write about the politics of the Dieselworks, which no one has really explored yet. The Den and Dart dynamic, as well as what makes Diesel 10 tick was so fun, and having Jeb be maniacal again as the antagonist of the piece was awesome. He's my favorite OC of mine and I think he shines brilliantly here. So now Jeb's stuck with four parking boots instead of just one, and he will remain like this for the rest of the set. So glad I finally got to share this with y'all, and hopefully you enjoy more as it comes!

As always, what is next;

\- _Hook, Line, and Blinker_

 _\- Captain's Calamity_

 _\- Wee Engines_

 _\- Percy & The Watermill_

 _\- Vampire in the Tunnel -_ Rex and Mike play mindgames with one another over a new tunnel on the Arlesdale Railway.


	35. Hook, Line, and Blinker

**HOOK, LINE, AND BLINKER**

It was a busy summer day at Brendam Docks. Salty and Porter were shunting trucks all over the dockside, and various engines were coming in and out with long trains. However, no one was working harder than Cranky the Crane. A large ship had just come into the docks, and Cranky was unloading the heavy containers from the ship's deck onto Salty's flatbeds. He was straining considerably, and Salty was noticing this.

"You alright, Cranky? You seem a little strained!" Cranky growled as his cable tightened.

"I'm fine, Salty. Just...whoa!" The container he was holding fell, and slammed into the flatbed below. Cranky winced.

"Whoops." He was unhooked from the container he was holding and returned to the ship to pick up another one. Porter rolled up with some salt wagons and braked to a halt.

"Salty's right, Cranky. You're straining your winch. That's not good for it!" Cranky scoffed as he picked up another container from the ship.

"I'm managing just fine, honestly...OUCH!' Suddenly, a loud creaking was heard and the container slammed onto the dockside as Cranky cried out in pain. He looked up at his winch, which had popped out of its slot, and gaped.

"My winch!" He wailed, and Salty and Porter shared a glance; there was sure to be trouble.

* * *

"Easy does it, George!"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Sorry, George. I'm going as fast as I can!" Butch the Tow Lorry chuckled as he used his tow cable to rescue George the Steamroller, who had run into some bushes. George growled, a few branches stuck in his roller.

"How did you even get stuck out here, George?" George rolled his eyes.

"Ruddy maniac drivers..." He muttered. Butch chuckled.

"Come on, George. There's a train at Dryaw waiting to take you to the mechanic by rail." Butch lifted George's rear end in the air, and proceeded to begin his trek down the road.

* * *

Butch rolled gently along the road with George behind him, before coming to a stop at a traffic light nearby a bridge overlooking a river. Butch sighed as he looked at the people fishing on the riverbank. George heard this and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you looking at, Butch?" He asked loudly. Butch snapped out of his imagination.

"Oh, sorry, George. I was just looking at the people fishing over there, with their hooks..." Butch frowned as a young boy caught a fish and excitedly held it up, his family clapping for him.

"I wish I could do something new and exciting with my hook. It'd be a nice change from dragging other vehicles around." He sighed as the light turned green. George sneered.

"Are you saying you want to go _fishing_ , Butch?" George laughed loudly. Butch blushed in embarrassment.

"Of course not!" He said quickly as they rolled along the road. George chuckled and smirked.

"Then, what _were_ you saying?" Butch smiled sadly to himself.

"Just a change of scenery would be nice." George rolled his eyes as Butch approached their final stop.

* * *

Thomas was waiting at Dryaw with a well-wagon when Butch arrived with George. Butch honked while Thomas smiled.

"Hey, Butch!" He said cheerfully. However, he saw George and scowled.

"George." He said simply. The steamroller rolled his eyes. Soon enough, George had been placed on Thomas' flatbed, and Butch was just preparing to leave. However, George smirked and called out.

"By the way, Thomas, did you know that Butch here wants to go fishing?" Thomas raised an eyebrow as Butch turned red.

"Well, I didn't quite-" Thomas cut him off.

"If engines can't go fishing then lorries certainly can't either, Butch. Take it from me; fishing is nothing but trouble." Thomas whistled, and left to take George to the mechanic, leaving Butch behind with his own thoughts. Butch was about to reverse away when he heard another horn, and Winston rolled into Dryaw with the Fat Controller.

"Butch! The Search and Rescue Center Manager said I might find you here!" He said, as he stepped out of Winston and walked up to Butch.

"Is something wrong, sir?" The tow lorry asked, confused. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Not with you, Butch. But Cranky needs repairs, so I want you to work at Brendam Docks for a while until he is repaired. It should only be a few days, and I trust you to keep everything running on time!" Butch smiled.

"I won't let you down, sir." He replied. The Fat Controller clapped his hands together.

"Splendid! You can start immediately. Chop chop!" He reboarded Winston and drove away, leaving Butch to start the drive to Brendam Docks.

* * *

Salty and Porter were working their hardest to stay on schedule, but it was hard without Cranky. Suddenly, the two dockyard engines heard a horn and Butch rolled in. Porter grinned.

"Hello, Butch! I take it you've come to do Cranky's work?" Butch chuckled.

"That I have. Can't wait to get started!" Porter laughed.

"Well, you can start by moving those crates onto Edward's trucks. They're due out in an hour!" Butch honked his horn.

"Right away!" And with that, he got to work.

* * *

Butch was remarkably efficient. He zoomed all over the dockside, picking up crates and taking them to the right places. He loaded the final crate onto one of Edward's trucks, and honked loudly.

"You're free to go, Edward!" He called. Edward whistled back.

"Thanks, Butch!" He rolled away, leaving Butch to return to work. As Edward left, he suddenly saw two yellow shapes dart into the yard. He rolled his eyes.

"Bill, Ben, don't you _dare_ cause trouble!" He called. The twins ignored him and laughed as they entered the docks. Up ahead, Butch was loading Timothy's trucks of sandbags as carefully and efficiently as he could, and failed to notice the twins sneaking into the yard behind him.

"Psst - Ben! You thinking what I'm thinking?" Bill whispered to his twin. Ben smirked.

"Oh, most definitely." The two quietly began sneaking up behind Butch, before Bill whistled. Startled, Butch dropped a group of sandbags on the line, causing Bill to collide with them. He coughed sickly as a cloud of sand rose around him. Ben glared as Butch smiled nervously.

"Sorry, guys! You startled me." Bill glared as he coughed.

"Oh, I think I got sand in my throat!" He lamented. However, Timothy spoke up.

"Don't you two have work to do?" He asked sternly. Bill and Ben shared a glance and began backing down the dockside away from the train. However, Butch simply returned to work without saying anything else. Ben frowned.

"That was rude, wasn't it, Bill?" He asked. Bill glared back at Butch.

"Yes, it was. Maybe we should teach Butch a lesson..."

"Maybe we should..."

* * *

Soon enough, Timothy's train was loaded with sandbags, and he prepared to leave. Butch rolled alongside.

"Have a nice trip, Timothy!" Butch called as the oil-burning engine left the docks. Timothy whistled back before calling out.

"Keep an eye out for Bill and Ben, won't you? They're sure to try to play tricks on you after that accident with the sandbags!" Butch chuckled.

"I can handle Bill and Ben, thank you, Timothy." Timothy raised an eyebrow.

"Suit yourself." Timothy left, and Butch returned to work. The sun was beginning to go down, and the docks were beginning to wind down for the evening.

* * *

That night, Butch parked nearby the edge of the dockside. He wasn't feeling very tired, as at the Search and Rescue Center he had to be up at night to answer distress calls, and had decided to stay up and watch the dockworkers' poker game. The Dockyard Manager and several other workers had gathered around a crate nearby Cranky, who was asleep. Butch watched with interest as the Dockyard Manager pooled together quite a large amount of money. One of the workmen gaped as the manager's stack of chips grew.

"I don't get how you do it! You've practically got the entire pool in front of you!" The Manager grinned proudly.

"I know. It's because I'm _good._ I think I could bet almost _anything_ and still win!" Two workmen shared a glance.

" _Anything?_ "

"How about your wedding ring?" The Dockyard Manager paled as he looked at his wedding ring.

"I said _almost_ anything; I'm not crazy. My wife would kill me if I gambled this off. In fact, I'm going to take it off and put it right in my pocket so I don't even have the temptation to bet it, eh?" He took the wedding ring off and pocketed it in his coat. Butch chuckled at the quaint game and began drifting off to sleep himself.

* * *

The following morning, Butch woke up with a start.

"Butch! BUTCH! Wake up!" Butch opened his eyes and was surprised to see the Dockyard Manager standing in front of him, in a panic.

"Have you seen my wedding ring? I didn't have it when I came home last night after the game!" Butch raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you put it in your pocket?" The Dockyard Manager wiped his brow of sweat.

"It must have fallen out! But where would it be?" Butch looked to the bay in worry. The Dockyard Manager picked up on what Butch was insinuating and began to panic.

"No! My wife is going to kill me if we don't get that ring back! Quick, try fishing your hook around the floor!" The Manager supervised nervously as Butch maneuvered himself to have his back facing the bay and lowered his hook into the water. He moved back and forth to try to loop his hook on something, until it approached a nearby ship. Suddenly, a workman ran over.

"Sir, your wife is on the phone!" The Dockyard Manager winced.

"Keep looking, Butch! She's going to wring my neck..." He sprinted off to get the phone, leaving Butch to keep rooting around. Suddenly, a loud horn sounded out and the ship began leaving the dockside. Butch felt a strong tug on his hook and gasped. Slowly, he began being dragged towards the end of the quay, and began spinning his tires to stay on the docks. Salty gaped as Butch strained hard.

"Butch! You've got a whopper on your line, matey!" He called. Butch groaned loudly as he began trying to drive away from the docks and began lifting his line.

"Come on...COME ON!" He growled. Soon enough, Porter and Cranky were watching as well, and the ship even seemed slower while trying to leave. Suddenly, Butch jerked forward and something fell into the water with a large splash.

"Whoa!" He cried. The ship rolled away while Butch slammed on his brakes and jerked to a stop. Butch was still amazed when the Dockyard Manager returned, looking considerably relieved.

"We're all good, Butch! I left the ring in my coat pocket after I took it off! My wife found it when doing the laundry today before going to work." He sighed in relief, but noticed Butch's startled expression.

"You alright, Butch?" He asked. Butch turned red.

"Sorry, yes, sir." The Dockyard Manager turned away and returned to his office, leaving an amazed Butch with Salty and Cranky.

"Did either of you two see what was on my line?" Butch asked excitedly. Cranky scoffed.

"How could I? I can't move - hey, HEY! Watch the arm!" Cranky called up to the mechanic repairing him, who shrugged. Salty chuckled.

"From the way it was fighting you, I'd say it's some kind of giant fish!" Butch grinned with excitement.

"A fish that strong must be massive! It'd be amazing to catch that huge with my hook!" However, Porter rolled alongside with an expression of disapproval.

"There's no time, Butch! You've worked splendidly, but we're already behind schedule with Cranky out of action. There's no time to gallivanting off fishing! We have to stay on time! Come on!" Porter whistled and returned to work. Salty chuckled and looked to Butch.

"He's right, Butch. I'll gladly help you look for it later!" Butch sighed as Salty rolled over. However, two whistles sounded out and Bill and Ben rolled alongside Butch.

"Don't listen to them, Butch!" Bill said encouragingly.

"Yeah!" Ben grinned, "They don't know anything about _fishing_ ; not like we do!" Butch raised an eyebrow and Bill and Ben chuckled.

"What do you two know about fishing?" Butch asked. Bill and Ben shared a smirk.

"Oh, _tons._ " Bill replied airily.

"More than Porter! Or Salty!" Ben added. Butch raised an eyebrow.

"Thomas said that engines and fishing-"

"More than Thomas, too!" Bill cut him off quickly. Butch was unsure about Bill and Ben knowing about fishing, but he decided to prod further.

"Well, how do you fish?" Bill and Ben grinned at each other.

"It requires a lot of patience-"

"And complete focus! You can't do anything else while you fish!" Butch raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks, guys, but I really need to get back to work." However, as the tow lorry tried to move forwards, Bill moved into his path.

"But, Butch! Imagine how impressed everyone will be if you catch that giant fish!"

"You'd be the hero of the docks!" Ben added.

"It shouldn't take _that_ long!" Bill smiled nervously. Butch thought for a moment, and smiled.

"Yeah! I can catch the fish real quick, and then I can get right back to work! That's for the advice, guys!" Bill and Ben shared a glance and chuckled as Butch reversed into position again and lowered his hook into the water.

"No problem at all, Butch!"

"Show us when you catch it!" The twins laughed as they rolled away. Butch took a deep sigh and looked up at the sun.

"This shouldn't be long at all!" He muttered, and began soaking up the sun.

* * *

As Butch waited gently by the quay to catch the fish, he began dozing off and really enjoying himself. He took a deep breath, and simply sat by the quay.

 _Sometimes it's nice to take some time out_

 _Do what you really want to do._

Suddenly, Butch heard a whistle and Porter rolled towards him. Quickly, Butch rolled away from the sea and pretended to be withdrawing his cable.

 _Just to relax and let the world fly by you._

 _Forget your worries, no need to hurry._

Porter raised an eyebrow as Butch whistled innocently. As soon as Porter was out of sight, Butch gently reversed towards the the quay and put his hook back in the water.

 _Just leave a sign to say..._

 _Gone fishing, gone fishing._

Butch sat calmly in the sun and sighed, observing the dockside. Trucks were being moved all over. However, Butch failed to notice a pileup of loads on the dockside...

 _It's a sunny old day and you're on your way_

 _Gone fishing._

Butch jerked his hook back and forth by moving backwards and forwards in impatience, but he took a deep breath and calmed down before returning to his fishing.

 _Gone fishing, Gone fishing._

 _It's a sunny old day and you're on your way._

 _Why don't we all go fishing?_

Across the dockside, Bill and Ben were watching Butch fish and laughing hysterically. Porter saw them and went to talk to them, but they scampered away before he could. Porter rolled his eyes and returned to shunting.

 _It's a sunny old day and you're on your way..._

 _Gone fishing!_

Butch remained at the dockside, and took a deep breath. He smiled and soaked in the afternoon air.

* * *

Porter was shunting again when he noticed several stacks of crates left completely abandoned. He frowned and looked up at Cranky, who was still being repaired.

"Cranky, where's Butch?" He called, "He hasn't been doing his work!" Cranky frowned.

"You expect me to have seen him?" Porter rolled his eyes.

"Helpful." He muttered sarcastically. Suddenly, he saw Butch with his hook in the water at the end of the quay and frowned.

"I told him! _That's_ why there's been such a holdup today! I'm going to get the Manager!" Porter rolled away, leaving Butch unaware with his hook in the water.

* * *

Butch was surprised to see the Dockyard Manager stomp up to him a few minutes later.

"Butch, what are you doing?" Butch blushed.

"Trying to catch a fish." He explained. The Dockyard Manager frantically smacked his clipboard with the back of his hand.

"Well, you've been trying to 'catch a fish' for four hours!" Butch gaped.

"Has it really been that long?"

"Yes! Now get back to work!" Butch stammered.

"B-but, Bill and Ben-" Suddenly, the aforementioned twins whistled and rolled alongside.

"We warned him, sir!" Bill said, with faux innocence.

"But he wouldn't listen! He just wanted to fish all day instead of working!" Ben added. Butch was astonished, and the Dockyard Manager looked at him.

"Is that true, Butch?" Butch tried to speak, but the man cut him off.

"You know what, I don't need to hear it. Just get back to work!" He rolled away, leaving Butch to glare at Bill and Ben.

"You tricked me!" He spluttered. Bill raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"And?"

"That's for the sand! That'll teach you not to mess with us!" They rolled away laughing, leaving Butch in their dust. Butch wanted to say something, but there wasn't much he could do, so he simply decided to get back on schedule.

* * *

Butch did as much work as he could, loading and unloading trucks as quickly as his arm would allow. However, however hard he worked, he couldn't make up _all_ the lost ground, nor could he avoid Porter's judgmental stares.

"What does it take to get good help these days?" Porter lamented to Salty, as Butch rolled by in embarrassment. Later, Butch was loading some crates onto a flatbed pulled by Porter.

"Look, Porter, I'm sorry. I got distracted and it threw everything off. I feel terrible." Porter's glare softened.

"I'm sorry if I've been rude to you about it. I guess I got upset about everything being thrown off schedule..." Butch smiled at Porter. However, a voice sounded out.

"Hey, ladies! Cut off the tea party! I'm fixed, so you can head back to the Search and Rescue Center tonight, Butch!" Cranky called from his part of the docks. Butch sighed.

"I've made such a negative impression..." Porter chuckled.

"First impressions aren't everything. Maybe come back some time and you can work better, eh?" Porter rolled away, while Butch went to have one last look around the dockside.

* * *

Butch looked at the ocean in the setting sun, and looked at the water.

"I wonder if there really was a fish..." He muttered. Suddenly, he heard the sound of rougher waves, and noticed something floating in the water. As soon as he noticed what it was, he gaped. It was a small toy boat, with two loops or rope on either end. One with severed down the middle, with the rope hanging out. Butch remembered the ship leaving the docks and immediately realized what had happened. Quickly, he began reversing and began to drive home.

 _It's a sunny old day and you're on your way..._

He made the decision to never talk about this experience again.

 _Gone fishing!_

 **THE END**

* * *

This story was nice and simple compared to the monster that is _The Diesel Divide._ Butch is a fun character, and exploring him working at the docks. I hope I got his personality across of being gentle, but focused when he puts his mind to something. Speaking of adding personality, I tried to incorporate the perfectionist parts of Porter's personality into his role, getting frustrated when things aren't going right. The Dockyard Manager's relationship with his wife was a fun one to add to the character as well, making him more than just a recurring workman. Bill and Ben were fun to write about, and Timothy having authority over them was something fun to carry over from _A China Clay Christmas_ last set. The _Gone Fishing_ segment was something I had in mind from the very beginning of conceptualizing the story, and I think it added quite a bit. Excited for more stories, and I hope you are as well! Leave a review on this story, and other stories too!

What's next:

\- _Captain's Calamity_

 _\- Wee Engines_

 _\- Percy & The Watermill_

 _\- Vampire in the Tunnel_

 _\- The Duke & The Earl - _Duke goes to work at Ulfstead Castle to work for his current grace, Sir Robert Norramby. However, he finds that the Earl isn't anything like he expected.


	36. Captain's Calamity

**CAPTAIN'S CALAMITY**

Henry the Green Engine had just finished his work, and gone to visit his favorite place on the whole island; the forest. He breathed in the fresh air and rolled to a stop on a siding. However, he smelt something funny and noticed a trail of smoke rising from some trees in the distance. That could only mean one thing.

"Fire!" Henry shouted in alarm, quickly beginning to reverse. He had gone to call the Sodor Search and Rescue Center. They would know what to do.

* * *

Quickly, Belle and Flynn, the fire engines, arrived on the scene. The small fire from before had turned into a bright blaze, and they quickly got to work trying to put out the fire.

"Come on, Flynn!" Belle called, as she shot water out of her cannons to try and control the blaze. Flynn smirked.

"Easy peasy!" He replied, and the two attacked the fire with ease. All traffic had been halted, so other engines came to watch Belle and Flynn put out the fire; they were all very impressed.

"Go, Belle and Flynn!" Percy cheered, stopped at the beginning of the forest with his mail trucks.

"Show that fire who's really useful!" Emily agreed.

"Right on!" Duck encouraged. Belle and Flynn shared grins and continued shooting the fire with everything they had. Henry watched nervously as the blaze was finally under control. The engines cheered as Belle and Flynn smiled at each other proudly. Henry rolled up to them, filled with relief.

"Thanks so much, guys!" He smiled gratefully. Belle chuckled.

"It's no problem at all." She looked to Flynn, who smirked proudly.

"No need to thank us!" He added, and the two began returning to the Sodor Search and Rescue Center, accompanied by cheers from the other engines.

* * *

When Belle and Flynn returned to the Rescue Center, Harold, Butch, and Rocky were there, and cheered when they arrived.

"Splendid job putting out that fire, chaps!" Harold said.

"Don't know anyone else who could have been better for the job!" Rocky added. Flynn chuckled and smirked.

"Thanks so much, guys. But, really, we're just doing our jobs!" He grinned, leaving Belle to roll her eyes. However, one rescue vehicle was not at the Rescue Center, and a storm was brewing out at sea...

* * *

A small fishing boat had collided with some rocks out at sea, and Captain the Lifeboat had been sent to rescue its passengers. However, on his way out, a terrible storm had started, and the sea was rocking up and down. Captain hooted his horn as the tiny boat came into view.

"Don't worry, everyone! Captain's here to help!" He called. One of the fishermen called out as Captain approached.

"Be careful, Captain! You're getting close to the rocks!" Captain frantically turned on his motor and began reversing, which due to the strong currents, just kept him in place. Captain frowned as he squinted to see the boat on the rocks.

"You're going to have to jump!" Captain called.

"It's too far! You're going to have to get closer!" The fisherman replied, and the others nodded in agreement. Captain squinted, and began intensely focusing.

"Right." Slowly, he eased off his resistance to the current, and moved towards the rocks at a snail's pace.

"Is this close enough?"

"Not yet!" Captain moved slowly forward again.

"How about now?"

"Little closer!" Captain was beginning to get dangerously close to the rocks.

"This good?" Captain frantically revved his engine to stay stable. His crew ran out onto deck to help the fishermen jump.

"Yes!"

"Jump one at a time!" He called. One at a time, the fishermen got a running start and jumped from the rocks to Captain. Just as the last fisherman was onboard, Captain frantically reversed engines and began moving away from the rocks. The fisherman's boat slid from the rocks to the depths of the ocean as soon as they were a safe distance away. Captain sighed in relief and slowly began to return to the Search and Rescue Center to give the fishermen some time to rest.

* * *

A soaking wet Captain soon emerged from the storm and arrived back at the Search and Rescue Center, where the rain had stopped but the skies were still grey. Captain eased up into his shed, and soon enough was stopped. His crew helped the fishermen off Captain, and inside for some hot cocoa.

"Thanks, Captain! You're a life saver!" A fishermen called. Captain chuckled.

"No problem at all!" He replied. However, he noticed a buzz of conversation across the yard between Belle, Flynn, Rocky, and Butch.

"Hey, guys. I'm back!" But they didn't reply. He looked to Harold on his helipad curiously.

"What are they talking about, Harold?" Harold chuckled.

"Belle and Flynn put out a forest fire today. Did a cracking job, too. Got rid of it before it could really spread." Captain raised an eyebrow.

"That's it?" Harold chuckled.

"Yes. Is something wrong, Captain?" Captain's crew reboarded, and the lifeboat began preparing to leave.

"No, Harold. Just have to make a routine inspection." Captain "blasted off" from his shed, leaving a worried Harold behind.

"I wonder what's up with him..."

* * *

As Captain made his way around the island's harbours looking for any boats in distress, he saw all sorts of engines and vehicles passing by on land. He tried to hoot hello as he passed Brendam Docks, the Fishing Village, and even Harwick Harbour; but no one acknowledged him. Captain sighed.

"No one appreciates me..." He muttered.

Captain rolled into the port of Arlesburgh Harbour to take on fuel when he heard a familiar voice calling from above.

"Hi, Captain! Up here!" Captain looked up and saw his friend, Skiff the Railboat, on the line above.

"Oh, hello, Skiff." Captain frowned. Skiff looked down at him and smiled.

"Is something wrong? You seem kind of down." Captain sighed.

"It's just that...well...no one appreciates the rescues I do because they're on the sea! Belle and Flynn put out a tiny fire, everyone is overjoyed! I almost get my hull ripped in half, no one bats an eye! They always cheer for Belle, Flynn, Rocky, Butch, even Harold! But never me!" He looked at his reflection in the sea miserably.

"Sometimes, it would be nice to know if what you do is worth it..." He sighed sadly. Skiff smiled wistfully at his friend.

"Captain, you save lives! Of course your job is worth it! The most important jobs of all can go thankless, but you're still helping people just as much as the other Rescue vehicles." Captain looked up at Skiff, still frowning.

"I guess, but..."

"And besides, your job isn't to get glory and praise; your job is to help people, and you're really good at it! Now stop frowning, and let me see the smile of a really brace lifeboat." Captain gave a tiny smile.

"Bigger..." Captain's closed-lip smile stretched across his face.

"Show me some teeth!" Captain did so, and Skiff chuckled. His driver came and turned him around.

"That's more like it! I've got to give a tour now, but perk up! It's not like you to be so down in the dumps!" Skiff began sailing away, leaving Captain behind. As soon as Skiff was gone, Captain frowned again and cast off to return back to the Rescue Center to await any rescue calls.

* * *

Skiff finished his tour and rolled into Arlesburgh station, where Daisy and Ryan were arguing.

"Trains have to run to time! We can't just close off a section of line for a little bumpiness!" Daisy insisted. Ryan frowned nervously.

"B-but I almost fell off into the river today! And the storm is going to make it worse!" He said, looking up at the grey sky. Daisy scoffed.

"The only reason _you_ almost fell off is because _you_ are a goods engine. You ride roughly with _Troublesome Trucks_! _I_ am a smooth, highly sprung and up-to-date diesel railcar! My passengers couldn't feel bumps if I were climbing a mountain! I can manage a _little_ dip in the line!" Ryan's eyes darted around nervously.

"B-b-but-"

"Are you a _chicken,_ Ryan?" Daisy taunted.

"W-what?"

" _Cluck-cluck!_ " She smirked. Skiff finally decided to butt in.

"What are you two arguing about?" He asked. Daisy rolled her eyes.

"Ryan here thinks that we should close our branch line until an 'unstable' section of track can be repaired."

"It's on a hill and if one of us derails, we could fall into the valley! It's not safe!" Ryan insisted. Daisy hooted her horn and began moving away from the platform.

"Whatever, Ryan. You have to go there next anyway, so _you_ can find out if it's safe!" Ryan's eyes widened as he was coupled to his goods train.

"Oh dear." He gulped fearfully. Skiff looked to him, worried.

"Good luck, Ryan!" He called as the guard's whistle blew and Ryan left with his trucks.

"Thanks! I'll need it..." He muttered.

* * *

Ryan rolled along the line that he was referring to, and noticed the dip in the line ahead. He gulped and began to slow down. The Troublesome Trucks giggled as Ryan slowed to a crawl.

" _Cluck-cluck_!" The trucks teased. Ryan groaned as he slowly rolled over the dip. However, nothing happened. He crossed safely, and continued on with his train, feeling considerably relieved.

"Phew. I guess it _is_ safe!" He chuckled and continued on. Unfortunately for Ryan, it had begun to rain, and the dirt under the line begun to slide out, making the dip even more drastic.

* * *

Daisy was relaxing in her shed when the stationmaster arrived.

"Daisy, you need to take some passengers back to Arlesburgh from Harwick. They need to get home before the storm hits again." Daisy groaned.

"It's muddy and wet! Why can't Ryan or Gator do it? They're already _at_ Harwick! The rain will spoil my mascara!" The stationmaster frowned.

"You're the only engine available, Daisy. You _have_ to do it." Daisy groaned, and grumbled away.

* * *

Daisy glided along the line as quickly as she could. It had begun to rain, and she wanted to get out of the storm as soon as possible. She approached the unstable section of track, and noticed that the valley was flooded below.

"Ugh." She spat. She sped up and rolled over the unstable section of track. As soon as Daisy's rear bogie had cleared the dip, more dirt fell. Unbeknownst to Daisy, the entire section of track had collapsed, and this was bound to cause problems on her way back.

Daisy collected her passengers from Harwick and began racing home. By now, it was raining hard, and she was desperate to get out of the storm.

"Come on! This downpour is bound to be _terrible_ for my swerves..." She muttered. She approached the dip in the line, and saw that the earth had fallen away. She gasped and slammed her brakes on.

"STOP!" She wailed, but the rails were far too slippery for her to stop in time. She left the rails and rolled down the hill through the mud and into the flooded valley. Her gearbox sparked as she rolled through the water and collided with a tree. She groaned dizzily.

"Ow..." Luckily, no one was hurt, but Daisy and her passengers were stranded, and it had begun to rain even harder than before. The guard swam to what remained of the muddy hill, and climbed it to go and get help.

* * *

At the Search and Rescue Center, the rescue vehicles received the call.

"Daisy and her passengers are stuck on a flooded line between Harwick and Arlesburgh! Someone needs to get up there as soon as possible!" Rocky announced concernedly. Belle and Flynn shared a glance.

"We can't really help..." Flynn said.

"There's no fire!" Belle added.

"I can't carry that many people..." Butch replied, "It's up to you, Harold!" Harold grinned.

"Certainly!" Harold prepared to take off, but lightning stuck and his propellers stopped twirling.

"I can't fly in this weather, it'll put the passengers in danger! That means...Captain has to go!" Captain's eyes widened from his shed.

"It's all up to you, Captain!" Butch called.

"You're their only hope!" Belle added. Captain grinned determinedly, flew out of his shed, and sped off into the storm towards Harwick.

* * *

Captain soon enough got onto the river, and rolled as gently and quickly as he could through the flooded waters. The water level was quite high, and Captain was very nearly level with the trees. Finally, after pushing a few branches aside, Captain spotted Daisy, with her passengers standing on her roof.

"OVER HERE!" Daisy cried, her makeup running due to the rain, as well as her own scared tears. Captain motored over.

"Come on, everyone! We have to get you out of here quickly!" The passengers jumped onboard Captain one by one, and soon enough Captain was preparing to leave.

"Don't forget about me!" Daisy sobbed. Suddenly, Captain heard a creak and gasped, looking at the tree Daisy had collided with. It was beginning to lean towards her, and Daisy looked up at it. Her eyes widened in terror.

"AGH!" She cried, more tears rolling down her cheeks and making her makeup run even more. Captain looked up at the tree and frowned.

"Don't worry, Daisy. You'll be safe. Driver, get a chain!" Captain's driver got a chain, and carefully looped it around Daisy's coupling hook, just above the water. As soon as everything was ready, Captain roared into life, and began slowly moving Daisy out of the way.

"Please hurry up, before I get CRUSHED!" The rail car cried melodramatically. Captain had just pulled Daisy clear of the tree when it creaked loudly and fell into the floodwater with a splash. Daisy sighed in relief as a Captain pulled her beneath a cliffside, void of trees.

"Oh, thank you, Captain." She sighed gratefully. Captain smiled.

"No problem at all. You should be safe here; no trees around. I've got to get your passengers somewhere safe, but I'll make sure someone comes to rescue you when the storm blows over." Captain sped away to navigate out of the flooded valley, leaving Daisy behind, safe.

* * *

Captain was soon enough back out on the open ocean, battling the current. His passengers were huddled up in his cab, and rain battered his face.

"I can't be swept off course...I have to get them home!" He motored ahead, and soon enough saw the Search and Rescue Center.

"Almost there!" Finally, he rolled up the ramp into his shed, and sighed in relief as he was finally out of the storm. His passengers thanked him profusely as they disembarked from the lifeboat and went inside for tea before a train could take them back to Arlesburgh.

"You saved our lives!" One said.

"Thank you so much. We would have been stuck in that storm for hours if it hadn't been for you." Another added. Captain grinned happily.

"You're welcome." He sighed in relief as the passengers were finally safe. He grinned out into the storm.

"No one beats Captain on the water..." He chuckled.

* * *

The following morning, the storm had blown over, and Harold was inspecting for damage all over the island. He was flying over the Arlesburgh-Harwick Branch Line when he heard a voice.

"HELP! HELP ME! DOWN HERE!" Harold hovered lower and noticed a mud-covered Daisy lying on her side against a cliff-face. Harold gaped.

"What happened to you, miss?" Daisy scoffed.

"Fell down a hill during the storm. Now GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Harold was about to fly away when he heard Daisy call out again.

"Oh, by the way, give Captain my thanks! That tree would have fallen on me and my passengers if it weren't for him!" Harold saw the fallen tree and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. Solid show, chap." He muttered, and returned to the Search and Rescue Center to get help for Daisy.

* * *

Ryan fetched Rocky from the Search and Rescue Center and pulled Daisy out of the valley and onto a flatbed. Daisy scowled as she looked at Ryan's innocent smirk.

" _Cluck-cluck!_ " He said simply, leaving Rocky confused and Daisy furious.

* * *

Captain was resting at the Search and Rescue Center with the other emergency vehicles waiting for Harold to get back to give them a damage report. However, when Harold landed, he had something different to say.

"Did you chaps hear what Captain did during the storm?" He asked. Captain raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He muttered.

"No, what?" Flynn asked.

"A tree almost fell on Daisy while he was rescuing her passengers, and he pulled her out of the way just in time!" The rescue vehicles were amazed. Captain looked away, red in the face.

"Well, I-"

"Good job, Captain!" Flynn said.

"You must be so strong!" Butch added.

"And brave!" Belle finished. Captain smiled.

"Aw, you guys..."

"I don't know what we would have done without you in that storm, Captain. Those passengers would have been stranded all night!" Harold said. Captain chuckled.

"Just doing my job, guys. Just like we all are."

* * *

Captain doesn't feel as left out now. He knows that sometimes, the things you do go thankless. But that makes the times when they don't all the more special.

 **THE END**

* * *

This story was a nice, fun simple one. Captain is an infamously neglected character in the series who I think deserves more story opportunities. Maybe when there's more boat characters he'll get his shot. I also got to write more Daisy, Ryan, and Skiff, which was a whole lot of fun as I love their dynamic, and yes, Gator is still on Sodor helping build Harwick Harbour. Daisy especially was fun to write, as we haven't really seen much of her makeup dealing with rain. This isn't the most intricate story in the world, but I like it and I hope you do too. Leave a review to tell me what you thought of this story, and other ones, and I hope you are enjoying Set 2 thus far!

What's next:

\- _Wee Engines_

 _\- Percy & The Watermill_

 _\- Vampire in the Tunnel_

 _\- The Duke & The Earl_

 _\- Thomas Gets Locked Out -_ When Arthur comes to stay at Tidmouth Sheds for a night, much to Thomas' chagrin, the number one engine ends up being locked out of the sheds and has to find a place to sleep.


	37. Wee Engines

**WEE ENGINES**

Work on Duck's Branch Line, the Little Western, was more abundant than ever. The engines were all feeling rushed off their wheels, especially Donald and Douglas, and they weren't afraid to express it. One evening at Arlesburgh Junction, the engines were all complaining about the amount of work they had.

"The amount of passengers I have to pull is ridiculous!" Oliver lamented loudly. The Caledonian Twins scoffed and shared a glance.

"Ye think ye have any right tae complain about passengers?" Donald snapped.

"We have tae work with ballast trucks! They're the most troublesome of all the trucks!" Douglas added. Toad the brake van chuckled from behind Oliver.

"Mister Oliver would know, Mister Douglas! They did push him into a turntable well, after all!" The brake van and twins shared a laugh while Oliver scowled.

"Either way, we need more help around here." He said. Donald and Douglas murmured in agreement.

"Aye, and soon tae." Donald replied. Suddenly, the engines heard a horn and Winston motored up to the sheds, with the Fat Controller onboard.

"Good evening, everyone!" He called after getting out of Winston.

"Good evening, sir!" The engines replied.

"I've heard some rumors that the work was becoming too much for you four, so I'm bringing in extra help to help you all keep everything to schedule. They should be arriving tomorrow, so your workload will be considerably reduced. Hopefully this shouldstop the complaining, like the shouting match I heard coming from here on my way down." Donald, Douglas, and Oliver looked around nervously. Duck chuckled.

"Thanks, sir. We'll be sure to make them welcome."

"Splendid! Now, get some rest before tomorrow, you all." The Fat Controller reboarded Winston.

"Night, everyone!" Winston called as he sped away, leaving the engines to go to sleep, excited to receive their extra help.

* * *

As the sun rose the following morning, Harvey was working in the Shunting Yards, loading trains with crates, when he suddenly heard a familiar whistle.

"Is that...Samson?" He muttered. Sure enough, the viridian tank engine rolled alongside and grinned widely.

"Hello, Harvey!" Samson announced to the yard, shouting. However, Harvey winced as angry shouts came from nearby sheds.

"Shut up, you cabless clod!"

" _Some_ of us are trying to sleep!" Samson chuckled quietly.

"Sorry, everyone!" He whispered. Harvey raised an eyebrow.

"I thought ye went back to the mainland. What are ye doing here?" Samson smirked.

"The Fat Controller has a special job for me, Harvey!" Harvey smiled, but his frown came back after he had a realization.

"Ye didnae bring _Bradford_ with ye, didye?" He asked uneasily. Samson raised an eyebrow.

"No, he's on the mainland, working with some diesel to keep him in line while he's being punished. Why do you ask?" Before Harvey could reply, Winston rolled up to the duo, the Fat Controller driving him.

"Ah, Harvey! Samson! Just the engines I've been looking for!" He called as he stepped out. Harvey was confused.

"Why do ye need us, sir?"

"The engines on the Little Western need help with their work, so I'm sending you two down there for a few weeks to help out." Samson looked at Harvey, a confused expression on his face.

"Both of us, sir?" He asked. The Fat Controller smiled.

"Yes, Samson. Both of you." Samson grinned happily, and Harvey smiled.

"Thank you, sir! Come on, Harvey! We've got a Little Western to help!" Samson steamed away, leaving Harvey behind.

"Other way, Samson!" He called. Samson reversed backwards, leaving Harvey to follow him.

* * *

Harvey and Samson worked well on the Little Western. Duck taught them how to work with the Slip Coaches by having them do a trial run on his normal route, ending at Bluff's Cove.

"Don't slow down too much! The coaches could bump into the back of you!" Duck called. Harvey tried to stay at the same pace, but Samson slowed down and the rear Slip Coach bumped into the back of the train. Duck winced as Samson groaned and Harvey grit his teeth nervously. The Slip Coaches were not happy with Samson.

"Such a rough engine!"

"Not fit to carry us at all!"

"He should stick to trucks!"

* * *

Eventually, Sidney brought Harvey and Samson to Arlesburgh Junction to show them the ballast chute.

"Now, if I'm remembering this correctly, you bring ballast trucks under the chute, and then ballast gets dropped into them..." Sidney announced, and Harvey listened intently. However, Samson was more focused on small tracks on the platform alongside the chute.

"What are _those?_ " He asked curiously. Sidney chuckled.

"Oh, that's the miniature railway! The engines who run on it are really nice! They run ballast down from the pits, I think..." However, Samson's laughing cut him off.

" _Miniature railway_? No surprise; they're tiny! How much ballast can they pull down at a time, one or two trucks?" At that moment, a loud whistle sounded out and Jock, the new engine, puffed in, hauling fourteen ballast hoppers behind him. Jock braked to a halt, and grinned proudly.

"Hello! Are you new?" He asked Samson, who was gaping at the little engine's strength. Sidney chuckled.

"Hi, Jock! I see you've brought the ballast!" Jock smirked.

"That I have! It's a bit more than usual, but it's easy for me!" Samson raised an eyebrow.

"More than usual? Why?"

"Another engine was supposed to take four of these, but he was having steaming troubles, so I offered to!" At the moment, a whistle sounded and Bert struggled in with six ballast hoppers, puffing hard.

"Come on, come on..." Finally, he braked into the platform, red-in-the-face. Samson chuckled.

"Pity that none of you little engines could be as strong as _I_ am, but I'm not surprised. A _toy_ railway can't be as good as the real thing, after all!" Samson laughed. Jock and Sidney glared at him, Bert was too tired to reply. Jock shunted some ballast hoppers onto the chute, and Samson bumped into the ballast trucks to get them into place. They groaned loudly.

"He's so rough! He's so rough!" Samson, however, wasn't paying attention. Donald rolled to a stop at the signal nearby, and noticed Samson being rough with the ballast trucks.

"Ye should be careful, Samson! Ballast trucks dinnae like being bumped! They're sure to pay ye out if ye keep treating them like that!" Samson scoffed.

"I know, Donald. I've pulled trucks before."

"Aye, but ballast trucks are the worst of the lot. Never bump ballast trucks; they're sure to dae something about it!" Samson rolled his eyes as ballast fell into his trucks.

"I can handle trucks, Donald. Come on, Harvey!" Harvey rolled around the back of the train and buffered up, looking guilty. Samson smirked at the sickly Bert.

"Don't worry, toys! I'm sure if you size up a bit you could be as strong as I am one day!" He whistled, and the train departed with Samson in front and Harvey behind. Jock, who was still behind, looked at Bert, who was limping to the sheds and looking miserable. Jock sighed.

* * *

That evening, in the small engines' sheds, the workmen were inspecting Bert.

"It's not your fault, Bert. Some engines are just rude." Rex said sympathetically. Bert sighed.

"I know, Rex. It's just he's so rude about being much stronger than us because we're smaller...I wish the big engines wouldn't look down on us..." Frank scoffed.

"That's like asking the stars to stop shining..."

"Or Frank to stop complaining!" Mike cut in. The engines had a laugh while Frank scowled. However, Bert was still upset.

"We shouldn't be overlooked! We're just as useful as they are, even if they're bigger!" Jock smiled at Bert.

"Bert's right! We need to prove to Samson that we _are_ stronger!" However, this didn't really get a reaction out of the other three engines. Rex yawned.

"Not worth the time."

"Nor the effort." Mike added. Jock simply grumbled in a huff. Bert was still upset about Samson, but didn't have any time to think about it and went to sleep.

* * *

The following day, Harvey was sent to work at the harbour, so Samson had to pull ballast trains on his own. He rolled into the yard and rammed into the trucks on a siding. They groaned loudly.

"OUCH! Don't be so rough, don't be so rough!" They groaned. Samson chuckled as he was coupled up.

"Come on, you lot! We've got ballast to collect!" He whistled loudly and rumbled away to Arlesburgh Junction. However, he started suddenly, and the trucks were beginning to get really cross.

"He thinks he can push us around? We'll show him!"

* * *

Samson arrived at Arlesburgh Junction again, and whistled loudly, braking to a halt as the trucks rammed into his rear buffers. They groaned loudly. Samson called out.

"Here for fresh ballast for Harwick Harbour!" However, the only engine available was Bert, who was sitting in the sheds, looking miserable.

"One moment, Samson! I need to get steam up!" Samson scoffed.

"If you were bigger, then you wouldn't have this problem. You'd have a bigger firebox! Like me!" He smirked. This made Bert very cross. He desperately tried to make his fire burn. His driver raised an eyebrow,

"Easy, Bert! Your fire's delicate!" Samson saw Bert straining to leave the sheds and called out.

"Are you alright? I have ballast to deliver, you know! Shunt it on the chute!"

"Just...a...second!" Bert's face went bright red as he strained to leave the sheds. Finally, Bert let out a deep breath and hadn't moved an inch. Samson raised an eyebrow.

"Is this a joke?" Samson asked, bewildered. Suddenly, Jock's whistle sounded out and the small engine rolled in. He saw Bert in the shed and sighed.

"Are you alright, Bert?" He asked, concerned. However, Samson cleared his throat.

"I need to be loaded!" He called. Jock continued looking at Bert concernedly as he bumped into some hoppers and loaded them onto the chute. The ballast tumbled into Samson's trucks and Samson whistled as he rolled away.

"Get your steam up, little fella!" He called. Bert frowned sadly as the tank engine disappeared. The ballast hoppers looked at Bert, and one spoke up.

"Is he alright, love?" She asked Jock. Jock sighed and rolled over towards Bert. Bert's fire was finally decently burning, and he was getting ready to pull a ballast train from the mines. Bert sighed miserably as Jock rolled alongside.

"Are you alright, Bert?" Jock asked.

"I'm fine, Jock. I've just got a train to take now." Bert tried to leave, but Jock cut him off.

"No, no, Bert. You get some rest. I can take your train." Bert sighed as Jock rolled away.

"Thanks, Jock." He looked sadly at the bigger railway, before dozing off to rest.

* * *

Samson rumbled along the line with his ballast trucks, riding as quickly as he could. However, Samson was unaware that the trucks were planning something...

"Pay Samson out! Pay Samson out!" They whispered, but Samson wasn't listening. He soon enough arrived at Harwick Harbour and braked to a stop, and Jack and Alfie began unloading his trucks. The foreman walked up to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Samson! We were supposed to receive double that amount of ballast! You need to go back to the Junction and get more!" Samson scowled, but began reversing with his now empty trucks to return to the junction.

* * *

Bert had finally got his fire up, and was slowly shunting ballast hoppers around the yard when Samson returned and whistled.

"I need more ballast!" Samson called, and Bert sighed.

"Right away..." He buffered up to some hoppers and pushed them onto the chute. As Bert moved the hoppers into place, the trucks below shared smirks and let their brakes slip on.

"This'll show him..." One of them whispered to the others, who giggled. The ballast fell into the trucks and Samson prepared to leave. However, Bert rolled down the tracks on the chute and noticed that the brakes on Samson's trucks were on.

"Um, Samson? There's something wrong with your-"

"I don't have time for this, small engine! I have ballast to deliver!" Samson whistled, and began trying to leave. However, his coupling tightened and he strained to leave. Bert tried to call out to him.

"Samson, your trucks are-" But it was too late. The coupling chain broke with a loud "SNAP" and Samson soared forwards. The points were set against him, so he hit them and came off the rails, crunching into the ballast before coming to a halt. He groaned.

"Ow..."

"I tried to warn him..." Bert sighed. The ballast trucks giggled.

"That'll teach him!" They chortled. However, a loud whistle sounded out that caused Samson to pale in fear.

"That's Donald! He's coming this way! If I stay here, he'll hit me! I'm a goner!" Samson whimpered in fear, but Bert looked determinedly at Samson, and spotted a chain nearby the shed.

"Not yet you aren't!"

* * *

Quickly, Bert and Samson's crews looped the chain around each of their rear coupling hooks, and Bert began to pull as hard as he could. Smoke and steam erupted from his funnel as he strained and Samson began to move.

"Hurry!" He cried, as Donald rounded the bend and began to approach. The Caledonian engine saw Samson and whistled loudly.

"Outta the way!" He called. Samson winced in fear, but Bert kept puffing. Little by little, he managed to pull Samson off the points, just as Donald rocketed by.

"Mind yer track, Samson!" He called. Samson let out a sigh of relief.

"You saved me!" He spluttered in disbelief, and Bert, now exhausted, smiled.

"It's what any engine would have done." He panted.

* * *

It was evening when Donald and Harvey arrived to help clean up the mess. Harvey lifted Samson back onto the rails, and Donald came to collect the ballast trucks. Samson spoke to Harvey, amazed.

"If it weren't for that wonderful small engine, I'd be scrap! Such a useful little railway, so strong!" He rambled. Harvey raised an eyebrow and shared a glance with Bert, who was resting nearby the chute.

"I thought ye said that they were tae small tae be useful, Samson?" Harvey pointed out. Samson coughed awkwardly.

"I said no such thing, Harvey! How could I when-"

"Samson..."

"Oh, alright. Sorry, Bert. I misjudged you and your railway, and I'm sorry. You saved my life. I don't know how I could ever pay you back." Bert smiled.

"I don't think you _need_ to pay me back, Samson."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"The sight of a small engine like me pulling a big engine like you was payback enough!' Bert chortled, and rolled away. Samson stayed behind in disbelief as he was coupled to Harvey.

"It's amazing! Those small engines are so strong!" Donald rolled by Samson's trucks and chuckled.

"Ach, that's the thing about yon wee engines. Never overlook them, because they might just surprise ye!" Donald rolled away, leaving Samson and Harvey behind to return to the Steamworks. Bert rolled into the shed and sighed, but a whistle sounded out and Jock rolled alongside.

"What's up with him?" Jock asked, looking at Samson. Bert smiled.

"A 'wee engine' showed him that we're just as strong and useful, even if we are smaller! How's that for a 'toy railway'?" He chuckled, and Jock gave a small smile in understanding.

 **THE END**

* * *

A nice simple story once again. I love writing the Arlesdale engines, and I think the main two I explored in this story, Bert and Jock, now have a fun dynamic. This story is a sort of subtle continuation from _Jock of All Trades;_ Jock learned from Mike in the aforementioned story, and learned from Bert in this one. Come the next Arlesdale story, you'll see how he learns from Rex. Samson is also back on Sodor, albeit separated from Bradford. Harvey and Samson will continue working odd jobs together throughout the set, and will appear in various other episodes. And Bradford? He will make an appearance this set, but I'm not going to tell you where or when or with who! You'll have to wait and see for that. Sidney is also still buddies with the Arlesdale engines, carried over from _The Missing Ballast Trucks,_ and female ballast hoppers reign supreme. The Arlesdale engines are a fun bunch, and I can't wait to use more of them.

As for what's next;

\- _Percy & The Watermill_

 _\- Vampire in the Tunnel_

 _\- The Duke & The Earl_

 _\- Thomas Gets Locked Out_

 _\- Diesel Up, Sidney! -_ 'Arry and Bert take Sidney under their wing to try and make him into a more malicious diesel while he works at the Smelter's Yard.


	38. Percy & The Watermill

**PERCY & THE WATERMILL**

Thomas was relaxing in Tidmouth Sheds one evening when he suddenly heard a whisper from the sidings.

"Psst...Thomas!" He opened a sleepy eye and saw Percy coupled to the mail train, preparing to take the mail.

"Are you taking the mail, Percy?" Thomas yawned loudly. Percy grinned.

"That I am, Thomas! Just wanted to tell you I was leaving!" He whistled and started off with the mail trucks. Thomas chuckled as his best friend left.

"Have a nice run, Percy!" He called, and Percy smiled back and rolled off into the night.

* * *

Percy rumbled all over Sodor with the mail behind him, stopping at every station to load and unload mail. However, he was soon approaching his favorite part of the route and began to grow excited. However, his driver managed to make him control his speed.

"Easy, old boy, we're not running a race!" He called. Percy began to slow down, but grinned widely as one of his favorite places came into view.

"The watermill!" Percy rumbled over the bridge on the old Elsbridge watermill. His driver chuckled as he stared down into the pond by the aqueduct.

"Hard to believe that this thing hasn't run in years, but it still pushes water through like a charm!" Percy gasped in amazement as he looked at the reflection of the moon in the pond below.

"It's beautiful!" He whispered with childlike glee. He rolled over the end of the bridge and left the watermill behind, feeling considerably energized by his favorite place.

* * *

The following day, Percy had to go to the shunting yards to fetch an important load to bring up to Elsbridge. He rolled into the yards and saw his friend, Alfie the Excavator, on a flatbed. Percy gasped in surprise.

"Alfie! How are you?" He asked. Alfie smiled.

"I'm great, Percy! I take it you're the one taking me to Elsbridge?" He chuckled. Percy raised an eyebrow.

" _You're_ the important load for Elsbridge? What are you doing up there?" Alfie smirked.

"Oh, you know, demolition. Easy job for me. All I have to do is clear up the rubble!" Percy laughed.

"What are you knocking down?"

"Some old watermill. Hasn't run in years." Percy's face turned to one of shock.

"The watermill is getting _demolished?_ " He asked, horrified. Alfie was concerned.

"Um, yeah." Percy frowned.

"You can't knock the watermill down!" Alfie looked worried as he tried to find words.

"No one owns it, Percy! It's an order from the Mayor! It's not in my control..." Percy said no more, but coupled up to the flatbed with Alfie on it and rolled away, a scowl on his face. Alfie sighed and looked down miserably.

* * *

Percy let Alfie off at Elsbridge, and continued along his way. Alfie still felt considerably guilty about the watermill, but he couldn't think of anything to say as Percy stormed off in a huff. Miss Jenny walked over to Alfie with a clipboard in her hands.

"Alfie, there you are! We can't really start the cleanup until Oliver knocks the watermill down, so I want you to wait with the other machines up here until you're needed." Alfie sighed.

"Yes, Miss Jenny."

"That's a good lad! This should be an easy operation!" She walked over, quite satisfied. Alfie trudged guiltily over towards where Jack was parked. The front loader looked at him curiously.

"Something wrong, Alfie?" Alfie watched Percy disappear around the bend and sighed.

"No, Jack, nothing."

* * *

Throughout the rest of the morning, Percy tried everything to get the thought of the watermill being destroyed out of his head. He tried shunting trucks in the yard.

"Ow, ow, ow!" The trucks cried as Percy banged them into place. He tried having a spin on the turntable, but it just made him giddy.

"Oh dear." He groaned dizzily. Soon enough, he limped to the shunting yards and was preparing to take his afternoon train of empty trucks to the quarry when he noticed Stanley, looking rather upset. He rolled over towards him.

"Is something wrong, Stanley?" Stanley sighed.

"I can't get a good fire burning. I've got to take a train of stone trucks to Harwick Harbour in two hours, and I can't even get to the quarry to collect it." Percy smiled.

"I'm already going up to the quarry to drop off my empties...It'd be no problem to just pick up your trucks from there and take them up to Harwick myself!" Stanley grinned weakly.

"That'd be very kind, Percy." Percy smiled and backed onto his empty trucks.

"No problem, Stanley." Percy whistled and began making his way to the quarry.

* * *

On Percy's way to the quarry, he passed Elsbridge, where Alfie was still waiting to go down to the watermill. Alfie saw Percy pass by with his empty trucks and tried to call out to him.

"Percy! Wait! I-" Percy rocketed by, blowing dust into Alfie's face, causing the excavator to cough as Percy disappeared. Alfie frowned.

"Oh..." He groaned.

* * *

Percy arrived at the quarry, filled up his trucks, and began making his way to Harwick Harbour. He felt a little better, but was still upset about the watermill. He passed Toby in a station and whistled as he rolled by. Toby chuckled.

"What are you doing around this neck of the woods, Percy?" He mused.

"I'm taking Stanley's train up to Harwick for him." Henrietta grinned as Percy disappeared around a bend.

"Say hello to Gator for us!" She called. Percy gasped with realization.

"Gator! Maybe he'll know something about what I can do about the watermill!" Percy puffed ahead towards Harwick Harbour, excited to see his friend, Gator.

* * *

Ryan was shunting some trucks at Harwick Harbour when he heard a familiar whistle and smiled.

"Hey, Gator! How were the Aluminium Works?" He asked. Gator rolled to a stop alongside Ryan with his own trucks.

"Fine, Ryan, although I had a bit of-" Suddenly, a whistle sounded out and Percy sped in.

"Gator! Gator!" He called and slammed his brakes on, skidding to a stop alongside Gator and Ryan. Gator smiled happily.

"Percy! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?" He asked. Percy tried to smile, but he couldn't hide his sadness.

"I've been better..." He admitted. Gator chuckled.

"Well, there isn't much I can do for you unless you want to talk about it!" He smiled, but Percy remained frowning.

"They're knocking down the watermill near Elsbridge, just because it's not running anymore! It's unfair!" Gator smiled warmly as he looked at the sad Percy.

"Sounds like you need a protest, Percy." Percy raised an eyebrow.

"A protest?"

"A protest is something that is done to show disapproval to something." Gator explained. Percy scoffed and looked down.

"I've already said that I don't want to get it knocked down, and that hasn't done much at all."

"That's not what I mean, Percy! I mean...well, I was just at the aluminium works, and there were protesters there on the line up!"

"Oh?"

"Yes! I was on my way there to fetch some parts, and there were protesters on the line. They wanted the people at the Aluminium Works to stop expanding into the woods by Peel Godred and disturbing the habitats of the animals and trees who lived there. They wouldn't let me through until they got a response from the manager. However, they began growing unruly, and some ripped up the fence between the rail and road to get boards to hit people with. _That_ got the police called on them, and then I got on my way." Percy gaped at Gator.

"How is that helpful? You're telling me that what you just suggested _won't_ work!" Gator chuckled, cutting Percy off.

"No, I was saying that there are certain _ways_ to protest, Percy. If you're non-violent, but firm, you'll be effective." Percy smiled, and began to think.

"Hmm...thanks, Gator! I'll think of something!" Percy whistled and rolled away with his empty trucks to return to the quarry, leaving a chuckling Gator behind.

"He'll think of something. He's a clever little engine." He whistled, and rolled away to put his trucks on a siding.

* * *

Percy returned to the quarry and went to fill up his trucks to take down to Brendam Docks. However, he was so focused on thinking of a way to protest, that he wasn't focusing on not bumping the trucks, and as a result they were having a rather rough journey.

"OUCH! Hey, stop it!"

"Percy doesn't know how to treat us!"

"We should teach him a lesson!" The trucks chattered among themselves, but Percy was too busy to notice. However, he approached Elsbridge when he suddenly saw a man waving a red flag on the platform and braked to a stop. The trucks banged into his bufferbeam and groaned loudly, as Percy looked to the platform.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Be careful ahead; we're closing the line near the watermill until it can be demolished." Percy scowled.

"Yes, sir." He whistled and left from Brendam Docks, not noticing Alfie struggling for words in the station car park.

* * *

Percy still was thinking about the protest when he approached a signal near Wellsworth and braked to a halt. However, he suddenly heard a cheerful whistle from the road nearby.

"Hello, Percy!" Percy looked over to the road and saw Trevor the Traction Engine on the road.

"Hi, Trevor! How are things at the vicarage?" He asked politely. Trevor chuckled.

"Oh, you know, well. The vicar's annual fête is soon, and everyone's been working harder than ever to make sure everything's tip-top for it!" He grinned. Percy smiled in thought.

"I've never been to a fête before...what's it like?" Trevor looked up blissfully.

"Oh, it's wonderful, Percy! Everyone comes to the vicarage and we have a great big celebration! Although I think the best part is giving rides to children, the Vicar says _his_ favorite part is seeing how active everybody in the community gets about what they want to happen." Percy raised an eyebrow.

"How do they do that?"

"Well, mostly it's petitions."

"What's a petition?"

"A petition is a piece of paper that says something people want to happen on it. If somebody agrees with what people want to happen on the paper, then they add their signature to it. Once it reaches a certain amount of signatures, it gets sent to someone who can make the change happen, like the Fat Controller or the Mayor." Trevor explained. The wheels were turning in Percy's head and he grinned.

"Trevor, you're a genius!"

"I am?"

"Yes! I know how to keep the watermill from getting knocked down now! Oh, thank you, Trevor!" The signal dropped and Percy whistled as he rolled away with a sudden jolt, causing the trucks to groan. Trevor was rather confused.

"Oh, erm...you're welcome, Percy!"

* * *

Percy's stone trucks were unloaded at the docks, and loaded with crates to take up to Ffarquhar. As Percy approached the junction near Elsbridge, the Troublesome Trucks began pushing against him. Percy gasped as he felt something bumping his buffers.

"Hey!" He cried. The trucks smirked.

"You think you can push _us_ around?"

"Think again! On, on, on!" They banged against Percy, causing him to pick up speed and speed through the station, bursting through the gates leading up to the watermill. Jack and Alfie shared a horrified glance as Percy sped through Elsbridge, breaking through the barrier leading up to the watermill.

"PERCY!" Alfie cried as the little green engine burst through the barrier and was sent careening towards the watermill.

* * *

Oliver had positioned himself on the line, preparing to swing his wrecking ball into the watermill. He strained in thought as he aligned himself. Miss Jenny stood down on the bank and called up to him.

"Everything alright up there, Oliver?" She called. Oliver chuckled.

"Yes, Miss Jenny. Just trying to be as careful as possible." Suddenly, he heard a terrified whistle from down the line.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Percy cried. Oliver barely has enough time to widen his eyes for Percy to bang into him, and the two were sent tumbling down the hill into the bank. Miss Jenny and the workmen leapt clear as Percy's trucks were thrown about, and Percy ended up in the pond, with Oliver further in. Luckily, no one was hurt. As the dust settled, Miss Jenny emerged from the bushes, scratching her head in disbelief.

"Percy? What caused you to come in so fast?" Percy tried to speak, but could only spit out a fish that had swam into his mouth, which hit Oliver in the face, as the excavator glared.

* * *

Thomas arrived with Rocky to rescue Percy, Oliver, and the trucks that evening.

"Easy does it, Percy! I got you!" Rocky called as Percy was lifted into the air onto a flatbed. Percy groaned woozily and looked at Oliver on the other flatbed, who simply glared at him. Miss Jenny sighed.

"Great! Now we can't do anymore work until Oliver is repaired!" She groaned. Percy gasped in surprise; although he still felt guilty about Oliver, he now had more time to prevent the watermill being demolished! Miss Jenny walked up to Percy.

"I don't blame you for this accident, Percy. But next time, try not to come in so fast!" Percy grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, Miss Jenny, the trucks pushed me!"

"Ay, I know. That troublesome lot made it clear enough." She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder to the giggling trucks on the bank. Miss Jenny sighed.

"We're going to have to wait a few weeks to get back on schedule. Hope you have a nice stay at the Steamworks, Percy. Oliver, I'll make sure the mechanic straightens out your dents and gives you an engine check in addition to the heavy repairs that need to be done."

"Thank you, Miss Jenny." Oliver replied. Thomas whistled.

"Come on, you two. I've got to get you to the works!" He chuckled, and they headed off towards the Steamworks, their first stop.

* * *

Thomas dropped off Percy at the Steamworks as the little engine was attached to the lift and lifted into the air.

"Get better soon, Percy!" Thomas called as he reversed away to drop off Oliver at the mechanic. Percy sighed as Victor rolled to look at his undercarriage.

"Cheer up, my friend! You'll have a nice rest!" The little engine chuckled. Kevin zoomed by with a stack of crates.

"Yeah, and you'll get to spend time with us!" Kevin called. Percy looked down miserably.

"Now I don't have enough time to do anything about the watermill...I'm sure Oliver will be repaired before I am." Victor and Kevin shared a unsure look as Percy remained in a sad frown. However, a loud whistle sounded out and Gator rolled into the Steamworks, braking quickly.

"Percy! Are you alright? I came as soon as I heard about your accident!" Gator called. The little green engine looked down at Gator miserably.

"I'm fine, Gator, but the watermill is sure to be knocked down now...I had such a good idea to keep it from getting demolished too..." Gator raised an eyebrow.

"What was your idea, Percy?" Percy sighed.

"Well, Trevor said that people spread petitions at the Vicar's fête, and I was going to have a petition to stop the watermill from getting demolished! But I'm stuck in the works now; there's nothing I can do to spread it!" Gator grinned determinedly.

"That's a wonderful idea, Percy! But you don't need to give up just yet!" Percy raised an eyebrow.

"But I'm stuck in here!"

" _I'm_ not." Percy gasped as Gator smiled.

"You'd really help me keep the watermill from being knocked down, Gator?"

"Of course, Percy! You're my friend, and that's what friends do for each other!" Victor chuckled as he looked at Percy and Gator.

"Alright, you two. Percy needs to get some repairs done so we can get him back on track as soon as possible. Off you go, Gator." Gator began reversing. Percy called out to him.

"Good luck!"

"I won't let you down!" Gator rolled out of the Steamworks, with a purpose.

* * *

The following day, Gator met Trevor at Wellsworth.

"So I'll take the fête, and you'll take it throughout your duties?" Trevor asked.

"That's the plan, Trevor. We meet up again at the end of the day?"

"Yes. Good luck, Gator!"

"Likewise. We can't let Percy down!" Gator whistled and rolled away with his trucks and Trevor chuffered away down the road towards the fête.

* * *

Throughout the day, Gator went through his duties and asked every passenger he saw...

"Would you like to sign my petition? It's to prevent the Elsbridge watermill from being knocked down!" Each passenger signed he asked, and soon Gator's driver had a long list of signatures tucked away in his cab. As he waited with Thomas at the next station, the passengers were in a long line to Gator's cab to sign the petition. Thomas guffawed in amazement.

"I've never seen anything like it. Have you, girls?" He asked Annie and Clarabel.

"Nothing of the sort." Annie agreed.

"But I think it's wonderful." Clarabel added. The guard's whistle blew and Gator rolled away, an even longer list of signatures at his disposal.

* * *

Meanwhile, Trevor gave rides to children at the fête, and when he was done with each ride, his driver, Jem Cole, would ask about the petition.

"All it needs is a simple signature." Jem explained. The parents of the children signed the document, and Trevor grinned as he looked over Jem's shoulder at the growing numbers of people on the list. Even Detective Miles Regan signed!

"Could you put my signature there too?" Sergeant Roy asked excitedly as Detective Regan finished writing. The detective chuckled.

"Why not?" He shared a glance with Jem, and wrote Roy's name on the petition as well. The buggy grinned.

"Well done, civilian!" He called to Trevor, "Great thing you're doing here!" Trevor chuckled.

"It wasn't my idea, it was Percy's! You can thank him!"

* * *

At the end of the day, Trevor and Gator met up again, and Trevor collected both lists of signatures. He rolled over to the town hall, where the Mayor was just leaving his office.

"Wait! Mr. Mayor!" The mayor paused as Trevor rolled up.

"We'd like to submit a petition to you to prevent the destruction of the Elsbridge watermill!" Trevor panted. The mayor looked over the list of signatures, impressed.

"Thank you, Trevor. It appears that a lot of people want the watermill to stay up...I'll bring it up at the next town meeting in a few days!" Trevor grinned as the mayor returned to his car and drove away.

"We did it!"

* * *

A few weeks later, Percy's repairs were nearly completed when he heard an excited whistle.

"Your idea worked Percy!" Gator called as he rolled into the Steamworks with Trevor on a flatbed. Percy gasped.

"What?" Gator's driver stepped out of the cab with a newspaper in hand.

"Look!" Percy read the headline of the newspaper, grinning from buffer to buffer.

"Mayor stops demolishment of Elsbridge watermill after petition with over one hundred fifty signatures reaches his office!" Percy gasped with excitement.

"The watermill's not going to be knocked down!" Trevor laughed, "Your idea for the petition was brilliant!" Percy smiled.

"Thanks! But I couldn't have done it without you two!" Gator grinned.

"That's what friends are for." He replied. The three friends smiled, finally successful.

* * *

When Percy was repaired, he had to take a train to Elsbridge. However, he was surprised to see Alfie and the Pack still there. Oliver was back too, and parked nearby. Percy rolled to a stop.

"Hey, guys! I thought you weren't knocking down the watermill anymore?" Percy asked. Alfie chuckled.

"We're not. Miss Jenny's got the contract to repair it now. Your little crash did quite a number on it, so we're making the bridge look as good as new!" Oliver scoffed, but Alfie rolled forwards.

"Sorry about nearly knocking down your favorite place, Percy. It's not something a friend would do." He said quietly. However, to his surprise, Percy smiled.

"If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me, Alfie. I was completely rude to you just because you were doing your job. I feel terrible. _That_ is definitely not something a friend should do." Alfie laughed.

"Ah, well. No hard feelings, right?" Percy smiled.

"No hard feelings."

* * *

When the Pack were done with their work on the watermill, Percy took their first train across, his mail train that night. He was astounded with how beautiful it looked. The moon shone on the water and the stars were shining. Percy grinned.

"Glad to have you back." He said, to no one in particular. He rolled over the bridge and left the watermill behind, feeling considerably energized by his favorite place.

 **THE END**

* * *

I don't do enough with Percy. He's a nice character and has good dynamics. The Percy-Gator and Percy-Alfie dynamics were a huge part of shaping the story, although I threw Trevor in there as this seems like something he would get involved in. Activism hasn't really been covered in Thomas before, and I'm glad I got to cover it in this nice, slice-of-life story. It's one of my most organic stories, and I'm very happy I finally got to write this idea out. Even the supporting cast was fun! Roy and Detective Regan, Jack, Oliver, Miss Jenny, and the Mayor were fun to include to make this a very nice adventure. If you liked it (or if you didn't), leave a review!

As always, what's next;

\- _Vampire in the Tunnel_ (going for a Halloween deadline for this one)

\- _The Duke & The Earl_

 _\- Thomas Gets Locked Out_

 _\- Diesel Up, Sidney!_

 _\- The Polar Rocket -_ When Class 40 goes missing in a snowstorm, Stephen takes it upon himself to venture out into the storm and bring him to safety, even if he's putting himself in more danger than Class 40 would be!


	39. Vampire in the Tunnel

**VAMPIRE IN THE TUNNEL**

Work on a new tunnel on an Arlesdale Railway, to streamline travel to the ballast pits, was completed, and the small engines were excited to use it. They had never had a long tunnel on their railway before, and were mystified by the long, dark hole with rails running through it. It was October, and Halloween was approaching. The stations were covered with decorations, and the small engines went about their work with vigor, thrilled by the holiday. One day, Rex had to travel down to the ballast pits through the long tunnel. It was dark, and he had to have his lamp on to see.

"Come on, almost there..." Rex said impatiently. He didn't like the dark. Suddenly, he heard a strange screeching noise echo throughout the tunnel, and the flapping of wings sounded out. Startled, Rex's eyes darted around the tunnel.

"Hello?" He called. No one replied.

"Alright, then..." Rex rolled ahead, out of the other side of the tunnel. As he disappeared, a pair of glowing eyes opened up in the tunnel.

* * *

That evening, the small engines were relaxing in the shed, looking at the decorations. This was Jock's first Halloween, and he was amazed by all the hubbub over getting scared.

"People in costumes, running around in the dark...sounds a bit loony, don't you think?" Rex chuckled next to him.

"It's all in good fun, Jock." However, a scoff sounded out from nearby.

"No, Rex, Jock's right. It's _completely_ loony." Mike spat. Rex smirked.

"Never knew you to be such a spoilsport, Mike." He said innocently. Mike rolled his eyes.

"Halloween's never been good for me. It's a bunch of nonsense." He muttered. Rex chuckled.

"You're bitter about failing to scare me every year, aren't you?" Mike glared.

"No, I'm not!" Jock raised an eyebrow.

"Mike tries to scare you _every_ year?" He asked. Rex looked at Mike and smirked.

"And fails each and every time." He said in a sing-song voice, "Although, Mike, whatever you try this year is guaranteed to not be as bad as _last_ year!"

"What'd he do last year?" Jock asked. Rex smirked as Mike scowled.

"Let's just say he ended up in a big engine's truck with a sheet on his boiler..." Jock laughed and Mike growled.

"My tricks are brilliant. It's simply a fluke that you didn't fall for 'the shed ghost'-"

"Or 'the spiked engine', or even the 'Doncaster devil'."

"Okay, I thought that one was pretty clever!"

"Clever? Daft, more like."

"You're just jealous because I'm cleverer than you'll ever be!" Mike smirked. Rex scoffed.

"Is that a joke? Because I've seen _sheep_ cleverer than you."

"Oh really?" Suddenly, an owl hooted and everyone went silent. Rex smiled.

"By the way, has anyone been in the tunnel by the ballast pits recently? I heard something odd when going through today..." Mike laughed.

"What do you think, Rex? That there's a _monster_ in the tunnel?" Rex rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, Mike. Simply curious, that's all." Suddenly, a horn sounded out and the engines looked to the line and saw a grumbling Frank backing down onto some ballast hoppers.

"Great...everyone else gets to rest while _I'm_ sent off to the mines! It's ridiculous!" Suddenly, Rex got an idea.

"Frank! If you want me to, I can take your train to the mines!" Frank's eyes widened in surprise.

"Um, sure, Rex. Go ahead." Frank rolled away from the hoppers and Rex rolled out of the sheds to back down onto them. Mike raised an eyebrow as Rex was coupled up by his driver.

"What are you up to?"

"Simply an act of generosity, Mike!" He whistled and rolled away, leaving the other engines behind.

* * *

Rex reached the junction nearby the tunnel and braked to a halt.

"Alright, there's something funny in that tunnel..." He said. His driver got out of the cab.

"You're really a curious cat, aren't you, old boy?" He chuckled as he switched the points. Rex grinned.

"Simply the pursuit of knowledge, driver." However, his smile disappeared when he stared into the dark tunnel. There was barely any light in the other side. Rex gulped and let out a shaky breath as he slowly entered the dark tunnel. His lamp gave him a little light, but it wasn't much help.

"Hello?" He called. He was moving at almost a snail's pace now. Suddenly, a black shape landed right in front of Rex's face on his running board. Rex's eyes widened as the shape expanded its wings and seemed to stare him right in the face with its tiny beady eyes. It's fur was a grey-black, and it had gigantic ears.

"BAT!" Rex cried. He sped up and the bat screeched as it frantically flapped around, smacking him in the face repeatedly. As soon as he was outside the tunnel, he braked to a halt and the bat flew off his face and returned to the tunnel, his driver frantically ducking as the bat soared into the darkness. Rex gaped as his winged attacker disappeared.

"There's a bat! In the tunnel!" He gasped, with heaving breaths. His driver wiped the sweat from his brow as he slouched in Rex's cab.

"Not much we can do about it right now, Rex. Let's take this train, and then take the long way around home." Rex agreed, and rolled away from the tunnel. His mind buzzing with questions.

* * *

Rex spent the night on a siding at the ballast pits, and returned to the junction the following day exhausted. Mike and Jock were sitting in the shed and noticed Rex roll weakly into the yard.

"Are you _just_ getting back, Rex?" Jock asked in disbelief. Mike raised an eyebrow.

"You alright, Rex? You're looking a bit peaky!"

"Yeah, Rex, you look really drained!" Jock added. Rex yawned and looked around before speaking.

"I saw something in the tunnel last night." Mike's eyebrows raised.

"Really? What?"

"A bat." Rex said. Mike burst out laughing at Rex's terrified expression.

"A _bat? That_ is what's freaking you out? It's a mouse with wings!" Rex turned red with embarrassment as Mike laughed loudly.

"Some bats suck blood..." Rex said quietly. Mike's eyes popped open. He had just gotten a brilliant idea.

"Of course, you could have seen the _vampire steam bat..._ " He said innocently. Jock's eyes widened in fear.

" _The vampire steam bat?_ " He spluttered. Rex simply raised an eyebrow.

"The vampire steam bat is a bat that sinks its fangs into you and sucks out all of your steam! It loves hiding in tunnels and pounding on unsuspecting engines, and siphoning every bit of that precious steam!" Rex simply stared at Mike in disbelief. Jock, however, was terrified, and trying to hide it.

"That sounds completely ridiculous." Rex said flatly. Jock chuckled nervously.

"Y-yeah. Completely r-ridiculous." He added. Mike smirked.

"Fine, don't believe me. Don't blame me when you get every last ounce of steam sucked from you in that tunnel!" Mike rolled away as Rex glared at him. Rex himself then rolled away to fetch a ballast train, leaving Jock in the shed with thoughts circling around his head of a vampire steam bat.

* * *

Rex shunted some hoppers onto the chute, deep in thought. One of the hoppers noticed the end of the chute approaching ever closer, and called out.

"Ay, love? Slow down before we go over the side, mate!" Rex realized what was happening and braked to a stop.

"Oh. Sorry, ladies, just thinking." He rolled away from the chute, leaving the hoppers behind. He was clearly still thinking about the bat. Rex knew that the the idea of a "vampire steam bat" was just Mike trying to scare him, but he was still uneasy about the idea of the bat.

"Driver, did you get a good look at the bat when it was flying away?" He asked. Rex's driver rolled his eyes.

"On you go about that bat again..."

"Some bats suck blood! I don't want you, or any other crewmen, to get hurt when going through that tunnel!"

"So what do you suggest?" The driver asked. Rex thought for a moment.

"The only way we can find out is to go back tonight and get the bat to sit still long enough to figure out what kind of a bat it is." The driver sighed.

"Alright, Rex. We'll do it after the last train of the day."

"Thank you, driver!" Looking forward to the evening, Rex puffed away to take his passenger train.

Jock was still on edge about the vampire steam bat, and wasn't looking forwards to traveling through the tunnel that afternoon with his ballast train. He saw the dark tunnel ahead and gulped as he puffed inside.

"Come on..." Without knowing it, Jock began to speed up. Suddenly, he heard a noise and gasped.

" _The vampire steam bat_!" He cried. His wheels began to pound the rails, and the ballast hoppers behind him rocked back and forth.

"Easy does it, love! You're making our doors slide out!" One called. However, Jock was too terrified to pay attention and rocketed out of the tunnel, causing a small mountain of ballast to begin building up over the rails.

That evening, after everyone had gone to sleep, Rex snuck out of the shed to go down to the tunnel. His driver wasn't exactly happy about it.

"Come on, Rex! Can't this wait til morning? I still haven't had supper!"

"Bats are nocturnal. It'd be asleep if I went in the morning. Besides, you can bring your supper with you!" The driver grumbled as he opened his tin, with a sandwich and an orange inside. He picked up the sandwich and took a bite as Rex rolled away into the night to inspect the tunnel. Rex didn't notice Jock, still wide awake as he left. Jock looked around, terrified by the shapes of the night. He suddenly heard a loud growling and gasped.

"Ah!" However, he looked next to him and it was just Mike snoring. Jock sighed, but still couldn't go to sleep.

Rex approached the dark tunnel and braked to a halt.

"Do you want me to turn the lamp off?" The driver asked.

"No, bats are blind. It wouldn't make any difference." Rex replied. His driver shrugged as Rex slowly advanced forward.

"Suit yourself." Rex slowly entered the tunnel. He looked around carefully as he tried to travel as slowly as possible. Suddenly, he heard the flapping of wings and instantly stopped.

"There it is!" He whispered. Waiting patiently, Rex listened intently for any more sounds. Suddenly, he heard an odd slurping sound and raised an eyebrow.

"Driver, are you alright?" Suddenly, however, he heard a loud yell.

"MY ORANGE!" The driver cried, after falling into the ballast outside of Rex's cab in shock. The bat had flown onto the seat in the cab, and had begun eating the orange in Rex's driver's open supper tin. Rex gaped.

"That's no vampire bat! It's a fruit bat!"

"I can see that!" The driver lamented. Rex grinned.

"We're likely more of a danger to it than it is to us! We should go back and tell the Small Controller so we can get it moved somewhere safe!" Rex let the bat finish its meal before reversing back to the junction.

* * *

When Rex returned to the sheds, he began settling down to sleep when suddenly heard a yawn and opened an eye.

"Jock? What are you still doing up? It's one in the morning!" He asked, alarmed. Jock sighed sadly.

"If I go to sleep, the vampire steam bat might get me. I don't want to get all my steam sucked out!" Rex sighed.

"Jock, there's no such thing as the vampire steam bat. Mike was just trying to scare me. Clearly, he did a better job at scaring _you_ than me."

"But you said you saw a bat in the tunnel!" Jock replied. Rex chuckled.

"That was a fruit bat; completely harmless. You should get some sleep. Halloween is tomorrow and you don't want to be exhausted during the festivities." Jock yawned, smiled, and began shutting his eyes.

"Thanks, Rex." As Jock fell peacefully asleep. Rex gained a determined expression.

"Maybe I'll wait a bit longer before telling anyone about the fruit bat...I think it's time Mike learned a lesson about scaring people..."

* * *

The following day, Rex left the shed early to hide on a siding. As soon as he heard the sound of the other engines waking up, he began weakly puffing back into the yard. He panted weakly as he managed to slide into the yard. Mike raised an eyebrow as Rex braked into a halt.

"What happened to you?" He asked. Rex let out a heaving breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Mike! The vampire steam bat attacked me last night, and sucked out all my steam! I barely made it back to the yard!" Jock raised an eyebrow, but quickly caught on and kept his mouth shut. Mike was shocked.

"B-but, I made it up!" He shouted. Rex panted.

"He's very real, I assure you, Mike. The thing latched onto my smokebox and I felt myself get heavier and heavier...oh, I'm going to be sick." Rex groaned. Mike looked quite spooked.

"Well, I mean, I..." Suddenly, the engines heard footsteps, and saw the Small Controller walking over.

"Alright, everyone, we've got a lot of work to do today! I-my word, Rex, are you alright? You look exhausted." Rex didn't want to lie to the Small Controller, but in order for his trick to work, he had to.

"I'm short of steam. I don't think I can pull as many trains as usual today." The Small Controller scratched his head.

"Erm...alright, Rex. Do you want Jock to take your trains?" Rex grinned.

"Jock's busy enough, sir. How about Mike?" The Small Controller turned to Mike.

"Alright, Mike, you'll take Rex's trains until he feels better." Mike looked suspiciously at Rex before replying.

"Yes, sir." He rolled away, leaving Rex to go for a rest. Jock chuckled as Mike disappeared and Rex rolled onto a siding. Mike frowned as Rex sat on the siding.

"He's up to something..." He muttered, and rolled on ahead.

* * *

Mike went about his work back and forth from the ballast pits. On one run, he came to a stop outside the tunnel, looking into it with deep suspicion.

"Alright, Rex, what is in that tunnel?" He looked, before looking down at the tracks in front of him, which was considerably more pleasant. He looked back and forth a few times, before grumbling to himself.

"There's no way that vampire steam bat could be real, so Rex must be trying to scare me...but he looked really drained...but he's Rex! He's a smug little smart-alec and probably wants to make me look dumb! Yeah that's it...but what if he _wants_ me to think he's messing with me and go down the normal track? If he put something down there to freak me out...but he could _want_ me to think that he wants me to think that he is trying to scare me...I-oh, bother..." Mike was severely overthinking the situation of which track to travel on, and his driver was getting fed up.

"Mike, are we going to stay hanging around here all day?" He asked sharply. Mike glared, and decided to travel through the tunnel.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." He slowly rolled into the tunnel, and looked around nervously as he rolled on through. However, nothing came flying at him. Mike smiled in relief.

"Just as I thought; Rex was pulling my wheels! There's not a thing in here!" However, Mike had just rolled past the sleeping bat without noticing it's presence on the roof of the tunnel. He rolled out of the other side of the tunnel and smirked.

"There ya go, Rex! That's one in the headlamp for you! Haha!" Mike rolled forwards, but felt a bump in the line and groaned.

"Though it'd be nice to see Frank do his job..." He muttered, and rolled on ahead, not noticing the jagged rails behind him as he left.

* * *

Rex had stopped faking being out of steam completely, and had engaged in some light shunting in the yard. He saw Mike return to the yard, smirking widely.

"I know you're messing with me, Rex!" He called. Rex raised an eyebrow, surprised he had been found out so quickly.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, careful with his wording. Mike grinned.

"I just went through the tunnel, and there was no vampire steam bat in sight!" He laughed, but Rex simply smirked. He hadn't been found out after all.

"But, Mike...aren't bats nocturnal? They sleep during the day so they can be awake at night!" Mike stopped laughing, an expression of horror on his face.

"B-but, I-" The Small Controller walked over, interrupted their conversation.

"Hello, Rex! I certainly hope you are feeling better." Rex smiled.

"Certainly, sir. Thank you for asking." The Small Controller chuckled.

"Good to hear. I was wondering if you felt well enough to take your evening train of hoppers to the mines." Rex grinned; his chance had come.

"I don't think I can, sir. I still feel quite ill. Mike would be happy to do it; he doesn't like Halloween very much, so I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a problem for him to miss the festivities." Mike struggled for words, but the Small Controller smiled and clapped his hands together.

"Splendid, Mike! The train leaves at 20:45 for the mines!" The Small Controller walked away, leaving Mike spluttering for words. Rex smirked.

"Good luck!" He called, rolling slowly away, leaving Mike behind.

* * *

The Halloween festivities were well underway at Arlesburgh Junction when Mike was preparing to leave. Rex had rolled into the shed to watch Mike leave.

"Be careful in the tunnel, Mike! The bat loves sucking out steam on Halloween night!" He called. Rex's driver, as part of the engine's plan, was walking over to speak to Mike's driver, holding his orange in his hand. The driver tripped on one of the sleepers and fell forward, holding out the orange.

"Whoa!" He cried. The orange squished onto Mike's lamp iron, causing the small engine to gasp in disgust.

"Hey!" Mike cried. Rex's driver got up and brushed himself off.

"Sorry, Mike. I slipped." He said innocently. He pulled the orange off Mike's lamp iron, leaving it sticky and smelling like citrus. Mike groaned.

"Driver, can we clean my lamp iron before we go?" He asked.

"Sorry, Mike. There's no time, we'll be late." The guard's whistle blew loudly and Mike left the junction, looking very spooked for the journey ahead. Rex smirked as he watched the red engine leave.

"All according to plan..." He grinned.

* * *

Mike approached the tunnel with unease, braking to a halt nearby the junction. His driver pat the top of his cab.

"Come on, Mike. Nice and slow." Mike gulped nervously and whistled before puffing into the tunnel. It seemed a lot darker at night, and his eyes darted around searching for the bat.

"Hello?" He called nervously. Suddenly, however, he heard a strange flapping sound in the darkness.

"Huh?" He called. Suddenly, he felt something on his running board, and then a strange pinching on his lamp iron. His eyes widened as he saw the bat, sucking on his lamp iron greedily. Mike gasped.

"THE VAMPIRE STEAM BAT! GET OFF ME! AHHH!" He cried, speeding up rapidly. His driver gasped.

"Steady, Mike!" But it was too late. Mike rocketed out of the tunnel and hit the jagged rails and ballast that Jock had dropped, and flew off the rails onto his side. His driver managed to climb and jump clear at the last moment, but Mike skidded through the dirt before coming to a stop.

"Ouch..." He groaned once he had stopped. However, he saw the bat fly out of the tunnel and land on his bufferbeam again, and began sucking on his lamp iron.

"GET OFF!" He wailed, wincing in anticipation. However, Mike opened one eye and saw that he wasn't losing any steam.

"Huh?" Suddenly, his driver sniffed the air and laughed.

"The bat's not trying to suck out your steam, Mike; it's trying to get the orange off your lamp iron! This bat must be a fruit bat!" Mike gaped.

"A fruit bat? But that means...REX!" He shouted in anger.

* * *

It wasn't until the following day that Mike heard a puffing sound while lying in the ballast outside the tunnel. He looked over and saw Rex emerge from the tunnel, grinning.

"Happy November, Mike!" He called. Mike glared.

"You tricked me! What did I ever do to you?" He asked. Rex raised an eyebrow.

"You try to scare me every Halloween, you made me scared of a fruit bat, and you made Jock stay up until one in the morning scared of said bat. I thought it was time you learned a lesson!" Mike gaped.

"You _wanted_ me to come off the rails?" Rex chuckled.

"An unintentional, but doubly hilarious side effect." Mike glared.

"And I expect you've come to laugh at me?"

"Nothing of the sort. I've come to rescue you."

"What?" Sure enough, Rex was chained to Mike and he slowly began pulling him closer to the line so he could be jacked upright.

"I want to make you a bargain, Mike."

"And what would that be?"

"Never play tricks on Halloween again, and I don't tell anyone that you crashed because of a fruit bat and a little citrus." Mike growled.

"Fine." Rex smirked.

"And while you're at, admit that I am far smarter than you." Mike gasped.

"No way!" Rex began slowing down.

"Fine, suit yourself!"

"W-wait!" Rex sped up again.

"Yes?"

"Rex, you are smarter than me." The men hooked up jacks underneath Mike's boiler. The green engine smirked.

"That's more like it!"

"Schmuck..." Mike grumbled.

* * *

After Rex brought Mike home, he told the Small Controller about the bat, and the Sodor Animal Park came to take him there instead of in the tunnel. The bigger engines told Rex about how the bat was doing, and how the animal park had christened him "Vampire". Rex thought it was very funny.

"Funny thing about Vampire is that he almost drove this railway batty! Isn't that right, Mike?" Rex mused to Jock, Bert, and Sidney. Mike glared at Rex from his spot in the shed, and Rex winked at him. Jock chuckled in understanding, as the engines continued laughing about the vampire in the tunnel.

 **THE END**

* * *

Wrote this spooky little number in prep for Halloween! This is the first major thing I've done with Rex, and it shows how clever he really is and how Jock has learned from it. Rex is scrappy and resourceful, and will go to any lengths necessary to complete a plan. He's meticulous, perceptive, and a teensy bit spiteful. I'm glad I could finally write about him, as this is his first major role. The concept of the bat in the tunnel was one I wanted to use for the smallies, as they are the only ones small enough to really be threatened by a bat. I think I carried across the concept well. Alas, however, this is the last major Arlesdale Railway appearance of the Set, although some of the engines will appear sparingly whenever their railway needs to be accessed. I quite like the smallies, but I'm looking forward to writing larger episodes with the larger characters. Happy Halloween everyone!

And, as always, what's next:

\- _The Duke & The Earl_

 _\- Thomas Gets Locked Out_

 _\- Diesel Up, Sidney!_

 _\- The Polar Rocket_

 _\- Philip Runs Away -_ The Troublesome Trucks take advantage of Philip's light weight and inexperience after he is sent to the Coaling Plant to work with Logan after causing an accident in the yard.


	40. The Duke & The Earl

**THE DUKE & THE EARL**

Late in the morning on the Island of Sodor, a little old engine was resting in the shed at Crovan's Gate. He let out a great snore. In his deep sleep, he didn't notice two other engines roll alongside him. The two shared a glance before grinning and one of them mouthing "one, two, three..."

"WAKE UP, GRANPUFF!" Sir Handel and Peter Sam called, causing Duke to snort loudly as his eyes popped open.

"Huh, what? Who? Oh, it's you, you impertinent scallawags!" He scolded. The two engines laughed.

"You didn't forget, did you?"

"I never forget anything! What exactly am I not forgetting again?"

"You're coming to work with us at the Blue Mountain Quarry today." Sir Handel replied, chuckling. Duke yawned.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming...go on ahead..." The two tank engines sped away, leaving Duke to get steam up. Before leaving, he looked at a painting hung in the shed by where he was sleeping. He let out a wistful smile.

"Good morning, your grace." He whistled, and rolled away, leaving the painting of Sir Charles Norramby hanging in his shed behind.

* * *

Duke arrived at the quarry after Sir Handel and Peter Sam, and looked around at the bustling machines.

"I miss the good old days where I could go to the quarry for peace and quiet..." He grumbled. Sir Handel and Peter Sam rolled to a stop on the two lines alongside Duke, and he followed them to a stop. Peter Sam grinned.

"What do you think, Granpuff?" He asked eagerly. Duke raised an eyebrow as he watched engines racing around, and stone being crushed and loaded into trucks.

"It's loud." He muttered. Sir Handel rolled his eyes.

"You always have something to be grumpy about, don't you, Granpuff?"

"And you don't, Sir Handel?" Peter Sam mused. Suddenly, a whistle sounded out, and Skarloey rolled alongside the trio.

"Sir Handel, Peter Sam! I see you've brought Duke." He said, sounding more disappointed as his sentence went on. Duke smirked.

"Time I showed you young'uns how to really run a quarry!" He chuckled and whistled before rolling away. Skarloey raised an eyebrow.

"I'm older than you!" He called. Duke didn't listen as he rolled away.

* * *

Duke worked at the quarry all morning. He shunted slate trucks up to Merrick to be loaded, but the crane was asleep. Duke whistled sharply.

"Look sharp, crane!" He barked. Merrick's eyes shot open.

"Huh? Hello? Oh, hello, Duke!" He said cheerfully. Duke glared at him.

"Sleeping on the job? Hmph, that would never suit his grace!" Duke's trucks were loaded and he rolled away, leaving Merrick to share a glance with Owen.

Whenever Duke saw something he didn't like at the quarry, which was frequently, he would say the same thing.

"That would never suit his grace!" He grumbled to Rheneas as he rolled by the dust covered engine getting cleaned.

"That would never suit his grace!" He called to Rusty as the little diesel bumped some trucks, spilling stone onto the line. Finally, Duke sped around a bend with his stone trucks, and saw Luke approaching the crossing, right in his path! He whistled a warning as loudly as he could, and slammed on his brakes. Luke gasped and slammed the brakes on as well.

"Look out!" He cried. Finally, however, both Duke and Luke rolled to a stop, unharmed. Luke let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, Duke. I didn't hear you coming!" Duke glared and harrumphed loudly.

"Respect your elders, young'un! Zooming around the quarry like that would never suit his grace!" Skarloey and Rheneas shared a glance as Duke rolled onwards, leaving a hurt Luke behind at the crossing.

* * *

That evening, Duke was taking a nap on a siding. Luke was still feeling upset after his near miss, and rolled alongside the old engine.

"Duke, I'm sorry about nearly hitting you today." He said quietly. Duke snorted and opened one eye.

"It's alright, youngster. Just don't do it again." He shut his eyes again. Luke looked away nervously before speaking up again.

"Just, um, one question, Duke." Duke's eyes popped open again.

"What?"

"Who's 'his grace'?" Duke grinned excitedly.

"'His grace' is the Duke of Sodor! I'm named after him! He came to my naming ceremony and he's..." His excitement faltered as the realization hit him.

"He's gone now." He looked down sadly. Luke frowned, realizing what he had done.

"Duke, I'm so sorry, I-" However, the sharp blast of a whistle sounded out and Peter Sam rolled alongside the duo.

"Come on, Granpuff! It's time to go home!" Duke chuckled.

"Alright, I'm coming, Stuart." However, his eyes remained sad, and Luke felt awful. He rolled into his shed with a frown on his face. Owen looked down at him.

"Are you alright, Luke? You look upset!" Luke sighed.

"I'm fine, Owen. But I'm not sure if Duke is..."

* * *

The following day, Luke had to take a train of stone to Ulfstead Castle. He was still thinking about Duke, and wanted to do something to make him feel better. He rolled into the castle, and spotted his friend, Millie, talking to Stephen and Glynn. Millie saw Luke and smiled cheerfully.

"Bonjour, Luke!" She called cheerfully. Luke smiled as he rolled into the platform alongside them.

"Hi, Millie!" Stephen chuckled.

"You're here early, little fella! The Earl hasn't even come to give us the day's briefing!" Luke, however, frowned again and looked sad. Glynn and Millie shared a worried glance.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Glynn asked kindly. Luke sighed.

"It's about Duke. When I asked him about 'his grace' last night he became all distant and sad..." Stephen and Glynn shared a worried glance. However, before anyone could reply, the doors to the castle swung open and Sir Robert Norramby, the Earl of Sodor, walked out.

"Good morning, engines!" He shouted theatrically.

"Good morning, sir!" Glynn, Stephen, and Millie replied. The Earl smiled.

"We have a lot of tours to do today, everyone!" He looked at his clipboard, before frowning.

"Oh dear. Too many tours, I think." Millie looked at the Earl.

"What do you mean, sir?" She asked. Sir Robert sighed.

"I need to look at the schedule again. I've overbooked everyone again, oh dear...Come back in about half an hour when I've sorted this out..." The Earl's three engines rolled away, leaving Luke and the Earl alone. Luke cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir." He said quietly. The Earl looked up from his clipboard.

"Oh, hello, Luke! I see you've brought the stone! You seem down, what's wrong." Luke sighed.

"Have you ever met an engine named Duke, sir?" The Earl's eyes widened.

"He works on your railway, yes?" He asked, carefully. Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. He constantly talks about 'his grace', sir, but when I asked him about it last night he became all sad." The Earl chuckled.

"Duke's grace was my father: the Duke of Sodor. He passed away during the war, so I guess that _I'm_ Duke's grace." Luke gasped.

" _You're_ Duke's grace! But that means that if he came here, maybe he wouldn't be upset anymore!" The Earl looked at his clipboard.

"And if Duke's here, maybe I can cover the tours I've overscheduled! You are a very clever little engine, Luke! I'll call the Thin Controller right away!" He ran inside, leaving Luke to smile.

* * *

When Duke heard that he was going to work for his grace at Ulfstead Castle, he was overjoyed.

"I haven't seen his grace in years! It'll be just like old times when he to visit me on the Mid-Sodor!" Duke announced to Sir Handel and Peter Sam at Crovan's Gate. Peter Sam shared a dubious glance with Sir Handel before speaking up.

"Granpuff, it isn't the same..."

"Shush, Peter Sam! Let him have his happiness for a bit!" Skarloey whispered as he rolled into the shed alongside him to collect his coaches.

"Better than seeing him in a bad mood all the time anyway!" Rheneas chimed in as he passed by. Peter Sam shared a worried glance with Sir Handel as Duke whistled and left the shed, not having heard any of the conversation.

* * *

Duke rolled up towards the castle, excited to see his grace.

"I can't believe it! I have to thank Luke for this..." He whistled in front of the drawbridge and braked to a halt. He grinned widely as the drawbridge lowered in front of him. Quickly he cleared his throat.

"It is such an honour to know you want to see me, your gr-ROBERT!" He gasped as instead of the grace he recognized, the _son_ of his grace, Robert Norramby, stood on the bridge.

"Robert! But, but...what happened to his grace?" Duke spluttered as he rolled into the castle. The Earl chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"You just found him." Duke's jaw dropped, but he quickly managed to regain his composure.

"Erm, yes...it's good to see you... _your grace._ " He spat the last few words out, as they felt rather odd when referencing Robert. The Earl, however, was much better at hiding his awkwardness than Duke, and straightened back up into a confident stance.

"Welcome to Ulfstead Castle, Duke!" He gestured to the busy castle, where Millie was resting in the platform. Duke raised an eyebrow and looked around.

"Hmph." He muttered. The Earl gestured to a line of coaches in the platform.

"You'll start tours now, if you don't mind. Just a quick one around the estate to help you learn the route." Duke grunted.

"Yes, _your grace_." He rolled towards the coaches, leaving Sir Robert behind. However, he didn't notice some papers on the line. Suddenly, he heard the Earl call out.

"Wait, Duke! Stop!" Duke screwed on his brakes and skidded to a halt. The Earl quickly ran forward and picked up the papers on the line.

"Must have gotten blown out of the office by the wind...sorry, Duke. I have a bit of a habit of keeping the windows open." With the papers in his arms, the Earl ran over to the door and shut it, leaving Duke to continue on towards his coaches. After turning around on the turntable, he backed down into the platform, grumbling dreadfully.

"It's not the same! It's not the same!" He grumbled furiously. The passengers flocked aboard the coaches and Duke whistled before setting off. Millie watched him go with worry.

* * *

Duke found his first tour pleasant. The estate was quiet, and his passengers, for the most part, didn't complain. However, he was still upset about the Earl.

"His grace wouldn't leave papers out on the line...it's not the same! It's not the same!" Stephen passed him and frowned as he spotted the furious old engine chuffering by.

"Oh dear. He's not very happy, is he?" He mused.

* * *

Duke pulled into the platform following his first tour and spotted the Earl at the platform, telling a story to a group of passengers.

"...And then the sled broke away, with Sir Topham on it! There was a bit of a chase afterwards with Thomas, but it was all great fun!" The Earl was using wild arm gestures and the passengers were laughing with him. Duke raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

"What on _earth_ is he doing?" He muttered. Stephen rolled alongside and braked.

"The Earl's a bit...eccentric." Stephen confessed. Duke scoffed.

"Not refined in the slightest. An Earl should be dignified. An example. Not some _clown_ for everyone to laugh at!" The Earl made a loud exaggerated noise and the passengers laughed. Stephen chuckled.

"Sure, he's not _traditional_ , but that's part of what makes him unique!" Duke sighed and shut his eyes in frustration.

"He's nothing like his father." Stephen raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Duke sighed and rolled off to the sheds for a rest, leaving Stephen to roll his eyes and rumble away as well. Unbeknownst to Stephen and Duke, the Earl had heard their whole conversation, and watched Duke go with sadness in his eyes.

* * *

That evening, after an ordinary day of tours, the Earl gathered his engines at the sheds. Stephen, Glynn, and Millie were all excited, but Duke just wanted to sleep. As the Earl walked over with a clipboard, Glynn spoke up, excited.

"It's Wednesday, sir! Who is going to be pulling the photography tour tonight?" Duke opened a sleepy eye.

"Photography tour?" He asked Millie. Millie chuckled.

"Once a week, the Earl's friends come over at night to take pictures of the estate. It's great fun!" Duke grunted.

"I'd prefer my sleep, thank you." He shut his eyes. However, the Earl walked between Stephen and Glynn and towards Duke.

"Duke, I was wondering if _you_ would like to pull the train this evening. A bit of a welcome of sorts." Duke opened his eyes.

"No thank you, your grace. I'd rather sleep..." He yawned, but suddenly got cut off by Glynn rolling alongside.

"I don't know, Duke. Pulling those photography trains _is_ quite an honour." Stephen rolled to Duke's other side.

" _I'd_ certainly want to take it if I was _offered._ " He continued. Duke rolled his eyes and rolled forwards.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it." The Earl clapped his hands together gleefully.

"Marvelous! Come to the platform as soon as you're ready!" Duke steamed off towards the platform, but not before giving Glynn and Stephen the stink-eye.

"Act your age, you impertinent scallawags!" He muttered and rolled ahead. Glynn and Stephen shared a look and chuckled.

* * *

Duke backed onto an open coach in the platform and noticed the Earl talking enthusiastically to his friends. They all held cameras, and a few were setting them up on the sides of the coaches. The Earl gestured to Duke as he was coupled to the coaches.

"This is Duke, everyone! He's been working here at the castle on tours, and I thought he would like a special train to make him feel welcome." Duke forced a smile.

"It's always a pleasure, _your grace._ " He said. Sir Robert's friends chattered among each other, and climbed into the coach to look into their cameras. Sir Robert put his leg on the front of the coach and pointed forwards.

"Onward, Duke!" He called. Duke rolled his eyes and begrudgingly set off, while the Earl's friends talked as they changed the position of their cameras.

Duke was expecting a quiet run. However, when they reached the more woodland part of the estate...

"Duke, stop!" A voice came from the coach. Duke screwed on his brakes and looked back.

"Is something wrong?" He called, but was quickly shushed. One of the Earl's photography friends positioned his camera.

"Back up a bit, Duke! I need to get a shot of that deer! I haven't gotten one yet!" Duke grunted, but reversed. However, as he did so...

"No, no, no, that's too far!" Another one called out, "It's way out of frame now!" The little engine was beginning to wish he had stayed in the shed.

* * *

Duke was stuck moving back and forth to get pictures in the right place for the next three hours, and by the time he returned to the shed he was both exhausted and furious.

"Unbelievable! Passengers were _not_ that picky in my day!" He muttered furiously as he reversed into the shed alongside Millie. The moon was high in the sky, and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep, still rather upset. However, that didn't mean he didn't dream of memories past, on the Mid-Sodor Railway...

* * *

No. 2, or "Smudger" as the workmen called him for his rough riding, was a crass engine from America who worked with Duke on the Mid-Sodor Railway. He was constantly going wrong, and coming off the rails. Whenever Duke would try to warn him, he would say...

"Listen up, Dukey! Back in the states, nobody cared a dime for a few spills!" Duke had rolled alongside Smudger after the red pannier tank had had yet another accident. Duke rolled his eyes.

"We do here." He replied but Smudger just laughed.

* * *

One day, the manager told Smudger to take a passenger train.

"But I hate passengers! They complain about the way I do my job!" He groaned. The manager put his hand on his hip.

"Really useful engines _don't_ argue, No. 2." Smudger rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, quit ya bellyaching, I'm goin'!" He whistled sharply and rolled to the station to pick up his coaches.

* * *

However, as Smudger rolled along the line, he bumped the coaches hard. The passengers were rather shaken.

"Such a rough engine!"

"We don't want to ride with him anymore!" Smudger chuckled loudly.

"That'll show 'em!" He bumped the coaches again.

* * *

At the next station, Smudger was taken off the train, and rolled onto a siding. Duke came to pick up the train, but noticed Smudger smirking on his siding as the passengers shouted at the manager over how bad of a railway it was.

"You want to get rid of passengers, you give 'em a rough ride, Dukey." He laughed in a sinister manner. Duke frowned and rolled away.

* * *

In the present, Duke's eyes opened after waking up from his dream. He smirked.

"Well, old friend, you've given me an idea..." He chuckled darkly.

* * *

When the sun had gone up, Duke was preparing to take the first train of the day when he heard a whistle and Spencer coasted in the castle with the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's private coach. The Earl excitedly ran over and opened the door for them.

"Welcome, Duke and Duchess!" He grinned. The Duchess smiled.

"Thank you for being so welcoming. We are looking to our private tour around the estate!" Duke raised an eyebrow.

"Private tour?" He asked Spencer. The silver streamlined engine snorted.

"For _some_ reason they want the little 'Coffee Pot' to give them a tour around the estate. Don't see why they want to when they have _the fastest engine in the world_ at their disposal, but..." Duke tuned out Spencer's gloating; he had figured out a way to put his plan into action.

"Excuse me, your grace." He called to the Earl. The Earl looked back to Duke.

"Yes, Duke?"

"If it isn't too much trouble, could _I_ take the Duke and Duchess on their tour?" The Earl was surprised; he had never seen Duke this eager.

"Um, certainly, Duke. If you don't mind of course, Duke and Duchess." The Duke of Boxford harrumphed but the Duchess smiled.

"Not in the slightest, Sir Robert. Come on, dear!" She climbed into the coach, dragging the Duke along by the hand. The Earl walked up to Duke.

"Show them a smooth ride, Duke!" He said. Duke smirked as soon as the Earl was out of sight.

"Don't worry, I will..." Duke whistled loudly, and left the station as quickly as possible, leaving Spencer coughing on his dust.

"Showoff!" He coughed again.

* * *

Duke jerked about throughout the whole ride. He bumped the coach every chance he got, and gave the Duke and Duchess of Boxford a very uncomfortable ride.

"Courtesy of _his grace!_ " Duke called back, grinning. Finally, at the end of their ride, Duke braked into the platform and gave the coach a final hard bump. He smirked widely as the Duke of Boxford stumbled out. The Earl ran over, startled.

"My goodness! Are you alright?" The Duke groaned woozily.

"That engine gave us a very rough ride!" Duke smirked; his plan to make the Earl look bad was working. However, to his surprise, the Duke of Boxford turned to him.

"There's something wrong with him! He needs maintenance done immediately!" Duke's jaw dropped in anger.

"What?" He guffawed. The Earl turned to Duke. His expression was stern.

"Duke, please go to the shed. We need to have a _talk_." The Earl was clearly furious but hiding his anger. Duke's eyes widened, intimidated.

"Yes, your grace..." He rolled away, leaving the Earl to massage his temples, exhausted.

* * *

Duke stayed in the shed all day. He was furious about his plan not working, but didn't have much time to think about it. Eventually, when the sun was setting, Duke saw the door open to the shed and the Earl walked in. His expression was stern. Duke scoffed.

"Your grace." He said coldly. The Earl sighed.

"Duke, I can tell that you were expecting my father when you came up here, not me, but-"

"I was expecting his grace, not a buffoon." Duke replied, his words like acid. The Earl sighed.

"I'm sorry, Duke, but there's very little I can do to change that." Duke glared.

"It's clear you haven't matured from when you were a young boy." He said. The Earl began frowning again, his anger beginning to show.

"I have been living my life as a perfectly functioning member of society, while you were trapped in a shed for twenty years. Don't talk to me about not being mature." He began to walk away but Duke cut him off.

"And whose fault is that? _You_ never came to rescue me!" The Earl turned around and clenched his fist.

"I didn't even know you _existed_ until you were found!"

"No excuse! Your father came to visit me once a month back in the days on the Mid-Sodor! And not once did he mention me to you? You probably just didn't listen!"

"I was a boy! I don't remember much from then!"

"That explains a _whole_ lot!" Both parties grew angrier and angrier.

"You've been living in the past!"

"At least I can think of the past! You're constantly focusing on some future hairbrained waste of your father's money and estate like dinosaurs!" The Earl turned around, furious. Duke continued shouting.

"You are a stain on your father's legacy! He is rolling in his grave!" The Earl turned around, his eyes shut.

"And how would you know what my father thought?" Before Duke could answer, the Earl's eyes opened, revealing tears streaming down his cheeks.

"BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN ME!" Shivering, he sat down in the corner of the shed. It hit Duke immediately what he had done, and his face turned into a concerned frown.

"Your grace, I'm so s-"

"My father died when I was seven, Duke. Do you have any idea what that's like? Growing up without a father figure?" Duke paused, trying to think of something to say.

"No, but I'm sure Falcon and Stuart do. Like you said, locked in a shed for twenty years." He chuckled sadly. The Earl wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"I'm losing memories of him every day. I've missed him since I was a boy, and seeing you was a reminder of him. I still miss him, Duke. I still miss him..." Tears began streaming down Duke's cheeks, and he felt the true weight of his words.

"I miss him too." Duke sniffled. The old engine chuckled sadly as he cried.

"You know, Robert," he said, managing to form words through his tears, "whenever your father would visit me on the Mid-Sodor after you were born, he would always talk to everyone about some silly thing you did, like spit out your baby food or saying your first word." The Earl looked up at Duke. The lost engine smiled and continued his story, despite his red eyes.

"He loved you, Robert. I'm sure he'd be proud of what you've done with the estate. Even I have to admit that it is quite impressive. You've grown into a remarkable man. Even if you are nothing like your father. Forgive an old engine for not seeing that." He smiled sadly. The Earl turned around, a sad smile on his face.

"Thank you, Duke." The two sat together in that shed in silence, but an understanding was reached. Finally, Duke broke it.

"I've been perfectly awful, your grace. I need to make it up to you." The Earl looked at Duke.

"Duke, you don't have to-"

"No, your grace, I insist. It's my duty as your engine." The Earl smiled.

"Thank you, Duke. That's very kind." Duke yawned.

"Although a little nap first would be nice." His grace chuckled.

"Go ahead, Duke. I'll schedule a tour for you in a few hours." As the Earl left the shed, he wiped his eyes, and stared back at Duke for a brief moment, before smiling pensively and walking away, as Duke fell asleep.

* * *

A few days later, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, and Luke all raced up to the castle to see Duke.

"Granpuff! Granpuff!" Peter Sam called, with Sir Handel and Luke racing behind. However, they spotted Duke napping in the platform. Sir Handel and Peter Sam shared a look and rolled alongside Duke, before Sir Handel mouthed the familiar "1, 2, 3"...

"Wake up, Granpuff!" They shouted. Duke snorted and his eyes popped open. Luke laughed loudly. Duke, to everyone's surprise, laughed with them.

"You two scallawags never fail to get me with that one, do you?" Sir Handel chuckled.

"How are you, Granpuff?" He asked. Duke chuckled.

"I admit that it took me sometime to adjust, but once I got used to it, I've come to love it."

"Glad, Granpuff!" Peter Sam replied. Duke looked to Luke.

"Luke, it was very kind of you to send me here." Luke blushed.

"Thank you, Duke." He chuckled. Duke heard the sound of chattering passengers and chuckled.

"I've got to give a tour now, and I expect you three have work to do as well. Now be off with you, you impertinent scallawags!" The three engines laughed and rolled away, leaving Duke to look back at his coaches. Once all the passengers were onboard, The Earl climbed into the back of the coach and sat down next to an attractive female passenger.

"All clear, Duke!" He called. Duke smiled, whistled, and started off on his tour around the estate.

* * *

As Duke headed through the grounds, he spoke to the passengers.

"And here we have the castle grounds, kept up by our Groundskeeper in tip top shape. Of course, the design of the foliage was made by Sir Robert himself, who happens to be on this train! Say hello to him, everyone!" Everyone turned around to the rear of the train, where Sir Robert was telling a story to the giggling woman he had been sitting next to.

"And then I-Oh, hello!" He waved sheepishly as the woman laughed. There was chuckling among the passengers, and Duke rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

"That may not have suited _his_ grace, but it suits _mine_ just fine." He chuckled, and continued his tour, finally reunited with his grace.

 **THE END**

* * *

This one turned out a lot better than I expected! Managing to bring back two characters, Duke and Smudger, in one episode, was something I was concerned about pulling off, but I think I managed it well enough. Duke's a character who was far more fun to write for than I expected; nostalgic, grumpy, but wise. Exploring the inner workings of the Earl and making him more human was fun too. Also, first use of Glynn outside of a flashback! I really really enjoyed the emotional places this went, and I hope you all enjoyed it too! If you did, or if you didn't, leave a review.

And as always, what is next;

\- _Thomas Gets Locked Out_

 _\- Diesel Up, Sidney!_

 _\- The Polar Rocket_

 _\- Philip Runs Away_

 _\- Penelope the Railway Recorder -_ The engines' lives are thrown in disarray by a new railway recorder, Penelope, who has arrived to help streamline maintenance work.


	41. Thomas Gets Locked Out

**THOMAS GETS LOCKED OUT**

One afternoon, Thomas the Tank Engine was taking a passenger train along the Main Line.

"It's a lovely day, isn't it, Annie and Clarabel?" He asked his two faithful coaches. Annie and Clarabel smiled.

"Certainly, Thomas!" Annie replied.

"Much more peaceful than usual!" Clarabel remarked. Suddenly, however, the three heard puffing from around the bend. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we were the only train out here right now? Hello?" Thomas whistled loudly. Suddenly, he saw Arthur rounding the bend in front of him. Annie gasped.

"Brake, Thomas!"

"There's not enough time!" Thomas cried.

"We're going to crash!" Clarabel wailed. Arthur gasped and screwed his brakes on.

"Out of the way, Arthur!" Thomas shouted. Just as the two engines were about to collide, Thomas was switched onto another line just in time. Once Thomas knew he was safe, he glared back.

"Mind your track!"

"Sorry, Thomas! It seemed like you were on the other line!"

"Well, Arthur, things aren't always as they seem!" Thomas rolled on ahead, furious, while Arthur looked sheepishly back at him. Annie and Clarabel tittered as Thomas approached the end of his journey.

"Spotless record indeed! Spotless record indeed!" They chattered.

* * *

That evening, Thomas returned to Tidmouth Sheds, still upset about Arthur. All the other engines were waiting.

"First he was rude to me this morning, and then he nearly crashes into me...and _he's_ the one with a spotless record!" He rolled into the shed, where Edward saw him grumbling.

"Are you alright, Thomas?" He asked. Thomas snorted.

"It's Arthur. He's been rude to me all day!" Edward chuckled.

"Thomas, you know how uptight Arthur can get! He probably just was worried about being late!" Gordon scoffed from nearby.

"And besides, I don't think _you_ were Arthur's biggest concern today. He had a bit of a run-in with the pol-" Suddenly, a whistle sounded out and Percy backed onto the mail trucks nearby the shed.

"I've got to take the mail, guys!" Edward smiled.

"Alright, Percy. Enjoy your run!" He called. Percy whistled and began to roll away. Edward called out again.

"Be careful, Percy! The tracks can be dangerous when its dark!" Percy chuckled.

"I know, Edward! This isn't my first time taking the mail!" He rolled away. As the other engines settled down to sleep, a shunter walked over towards the shed. As he prepared to close the doors, Thomas opened one eye.

"We like to keep the shed open, thank you. Makes less of a noise when Henry has to leave to take the Flying Kipper." The shunter shrugged and walked away. Thomas settled back down to sleep, although he was sill thinking about Arthur.

* * *

Percy rumbled across the island delivering his mail. The moon was high in the sky, and the tracks were clear.

"I haven't had this good of a run in weeks!" He chortled as he was switched onto Thomas' branch line to deliver mail to Ffarquhar and other out of the way towns.

* * *

However, along the way, Terence the Tractor had been at work to try a move a tree that was too close to the line. They had uprooted the tree significantly, and had propped it up with wooden supports when they were done. However, the supports weren't strong enough to hold up the tree, and they snapped in two, causing the tree to fall onto the line. Terence jerked awake at the sound of the tree hitting the rails.

"Oh no!" He cried, and revved his engine to try and get the tree out of the way, but it was too late. Percy rounded the bend and collided with the tree, braking to a halt.

"Ouch!" Steam hissed from all directions, and poor Percy couldn't move anymore.

"Percy! Are you alright?" Terence asked, worried. Percy could only groan.

* * *

It was daylight when Percy was finally rescued. Terence pulled the tree out of the way while Percy's crew inspected his undercarriage. The Fat Controller sighed.

"Do you see any serious damage, driver?"

"No, but he'll definitely need at least a day at the works. They'd be able to see damage there better than we can here." Terence cleared his throat.

"Sorry for causing this accident, sir, I-"

"It's alright, Terence, you had no way of knowing." The Fat Controller's eyes suddenly widened.

"And actually, Terence, I think you may have solved another problem of mine." Terence raised an eyebrow as the Fat Controller turned to Percy.

"Percy, I think I should be able to fill your gaps in the schedule. Hopefully your damage isn't too major." The Fat Controller began climbing into Winston. Percy was confused.

"Where are you going, sir?" The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Norramby, Percy." He honked Winston's horn and rolled away, leaving a confused Percy behind to be pulled by Harvey to the Steamworks.

"Oh, um...enjoy your trip, sir!" He called.

* * *

Arthur was resting in the platform at Norramby with some coaches when he suddenly heard a familiar throat clearing. He scowled.

"What is it, Jeb?" He looked over to see the camelback engine smirking.

"How's not being _uptight,_ Artie?" He sneered. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It's been a day." Jeb snorted.

"Hey, there isn't much I can do around here for entertainment." Suddenly, a horn sounded out and Winston rolled in, stopping on the line between Arthur and Jeb. The Fat Controller stepped out.

"Arthur! I heard about your encounter with the fishermen yesterday!" Arthur blushed.

"Sorry, sir." The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Detective Regan and Sergeant Roy told me you learned your lesson, but I think you need some time away from your branch line. Percy needs some repairs done, so I'm going to send you to do his work for a while." Arthur smiled.

"Will do, sir!" Jeb grinned.

"Can I do Arthur's work, sir?" The Fat Controller glared at him, and Jeb looked down at his parking boot before scowling.

"It was worth a shot..." He muttered. Arthur whistled and rolled away off towards Thomas' branch line.

* * *

Thomas was waiting with Annie and Clarabel at Elsbridge. The passengers boarded the train, and the tank engine chuckled.

"Just branch line trains today. No more near misses with Arthur!" The coaches sighed in relief.

"Good!"

"Fine by me!" However, they heard a whistle and Arthur rolled alongside. Thomas' jaw dropped.

"Him? What's _he_ doing here?" Arthur smiled as he braked to a halt.

"Hey, Thomas! I'm here to do Percy's work." The guard's whistle blew, and Thomas whistled before rolling away, still angry.

"Well, get on with it!" Arthur frowned, hurt.

"Oh, dear. He's still upset about yesterday then..."

* * *

Throughout their duties, Thomas and Arthur frequently crossed paths on the branch line.

"Thomas, I'm sor-" Arthur tried to say as Thomas rocketed by with his coaches, but only ended up coughing on dust as the other engine glared at him. Arthur sighed and continued on. They had several encounters like this throughout the day, but they all resulted in the same thing; Thomas didn't want to listen to Arthur.

* * *

At the end of the day, Thomas pulled into Ffarquhar with his last train and yawned loudly.

"I'm about ready to sleep right now...this day has been exhausting!" He remarked. Annie chuckled.

"Doesn't take a lot to make you tired!" She mused, and Clarabel laughed. Thomas smiled as he ran around the train to buffer up to the coaches on the other end and return to Tidmouth Sheds. As he rolled along the line bunker-first, he heard a whistle and Arthur puffed alongside.

"Arthur, where are you going?" Thomas asked dully. Arthur chuckled.

"I've got to take the mail tonight, remember? I have to pick up Percy's mail vans from Tidmouth!" Thomas scowled.

"Great." Before Arthur could speak again, Thomas sped up, leaving him behind. Arthur sighed and rolled on ahead at his steady pace.

* * *

When Thomas and Arthur arrived at Tidmouth Sheds, the other engines were already waiting. Edward smiled.

"Good evening, Arthur!" He called. Thomas scoffed after having put Annie and Clarabel in the carriage sheds. Arthur rolled onto the line nearby the sheds to fetch the mail vans.

"Hello, Edward!" He replied. Thomas rolled from the carriage shed into the main one and scowled at Arthur as the larger engine backed onto the mail trucks. Edward noticed this and smirked.

"Arthur, have you taken the mail before? Percy has a _very_ specific route." Arthur's face turned to one of worry.

"I _haven't,_ actually." Edward chuckled.

"Oh, it's no problem at all. I'm sure someone who knows the route can take it tonight with you. You've taken it before, right Thomas?" He looked to the smaller tank engine, who scoffed.

"I'll just take it myself. Stay at the sheds tonight, Arthur." Edward frowned as Thomas left the sheds and Arthur moved out of the way to allow the other engines to back down onto the mail vans. Gordon chuckled.

"Didn't go as planned, Edward?"

"Oh, hush." Thomas was coupled to the mail vans as Arthur backed into Tidmouth Sheds.

"See you all in a few hours!" He called, and rolled away with the mail vans behind him. Arthur backed into the sheds, going farther back than the other engines. Gordon looked back and raised an eyebrow.

"Arthur, why are you that far back in the shed?" Arthur raised his eyebrow in return.

"So I'm not in the doorway when you close the shed doors for the night?" The engines shared a glance.

"Arthur, we _don't_ shut the shed doors at night unless it's raining." Edward said kindly. He tried to speak again, but Arthur cut him off.

"That's against the rules you know! All engines in residence must be shut behind shed doors at night!" Gordon glared.

"But-"

"There's no negotiation on this!" They argued and argued, but Arthur eventually won, and the other engines reversed into the shed. Arthur's driver went around and closed all the doors, and locked them. Edward looked at Arthur nervously.

"Arthur, Thomas doesn't have a k-"'

"I'm not having a blot on my record just because you like a little wind!" Arthur replied simply. Edward shared a look with Gordon before going to sleep. Arthur soon realized what he had said, and groaned quietly.

"Way to go, Arthur. First Thomas, now I'm regressing...maybe I am just 'Uptight Artie'..." Arthur sighed and went to sleep, leaving the engines inside the locked shed.

* * *

Thomas had a nice run with the mail. The line was clear, and he didn't have to think about Arthur. However, he was beginning to get very tired. After dropping off the mail at Crovan's Gate, he yawned, and looked at the narrow gauge engines, fast asleep.

"I've got to get back to Tidmouth Sheds soon..." He muttered, and whistled before moving on.

* * *

However, when Thomas puffed onto the turntable at Tidmouth Sheds, he noticed that all the shed doors were shut.

"That's funny..." He muttered. However, when his driver went to open the door to Thomas' berth, he found it...

"Locked!" Thomas spluttered in disbelief, "They've locked me out! Where am I going to sleep now?" The driver climbed into the cab.

"We could try the carriage shed!" Thomas looked over, and saw Annie and Clarabel snoozing, surrounded by coaches and trucks. There was no room for him.

"It's full." Thomas sighed. The driver scratched his head.

"Why don't we try Ffarquhar? Toby's down there!" Thomas scowled and rolled away.

"Who locked me out of the shed? We _never_ close the shed doors!"

* * *

When Thomas rolled up to Ffarquhar Sheds, the three-row shed once occupied by Toby, Percy, and himself, he found that the shed had some residents already.

"Oy, buzz off! It's the middle of the night!" A truck shouted. Thomas glared.

"What are you lot doing here?"

"We live here!"

"Where's Toby?"

"Toby lives at Toryreck! This is a goods shed, mate!" Thomas scowled.

"Up to Toryreck I go then..." He muttered and rolled away, leaving the trucks behind.

* * *

When Thomas arrived at Toryreck, he saw Toby...and the line of trucks in front of him blocking the points to the other line in the shed.

"Botheration!" He muttered. However, he grinned determindedly.

"It can't be _that_ hard to find a place to sleep! I just need to look a little harder!" He sped away to continue his search for a shed.

* * *

Thomas approached the Washdown, where Marion was sleeping after a long day of digging. Thomas whistled, and Marion jolted awake.

"What? Who? Oh, hello, Thomas! What brings you to my temporary abode?" She asked loudly. Thomas winced at the noise.

"I got locked out of Tidmouth Sheds, and I need a place to sleep...do you have any room?" Marion grinned widely.

"I'm always willing to help a friend in need, Thomas! And, oh my, this is like a slumber party! I've always wanted to have a slumber party! We can tell stories, and talk about-"

"Thanks for the offer, Marion, but I'd rather just go to sleep." Thomas yawned as he rolled into the part or the shed behind Marion. Marion, however, grinned giddily.

"Thomas?" She whispered in a way that made it blatantly clear she was not trying to be quiet.

"Yes, Marion?"

"Do you want to play a slumber party game?"

"No, Marion."

"But it's _fun!_ " Thomas groaned.

"Fine. What game is it?" Marion grinned.

"GUESS WHAT'S IN MY SHOVEL!" She shouted loudly. She got no response.

"Thomas? Thomas?" She asked, but Thomas had left.

* * *

Thomas looked all over the island for a shed. He tried looking at Arlesburgh Junction, but the shed was full.

"Come on!" Thomas snapped through clenched teeth. Oliver simply snored loudly in response.

* * *

Thomas puffed into the Coaling Plant and pulled beside Logan and Hector in the shed.

"Finally..." He muttered, but suddenly coughed. A cloud of coal dust covered in the yard, and Thomas coughed furiously as he raced away to escape it.

Finally, Thomas pulled into Wellsworth station, exhausted.

"WHY CAN'T I FIND A SHED?" He shouted in anguish. He heard two nearby engines stopping their rest and his eyes snapped towards the two-line shed.

"T-T-Thomas? What are you d-doing here?" Molly yawned, as BoCo next to her glared at Thomas. Thomas blushed.

"Sorry, you two, I just, well, I got locked out of Tidmouth Sheds you see, and I'm trying to find another place to sleep for the night." BoCo chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Thomas, but I don't think there's any room for you here. We just have this shed, and Molly and I can't move back any farther." Thomas sighed.

"Sorry, BoCo. Sorry, Molly." Molly felt sorry for Thomas, and her eyes searched the yard until they fell on...

"There's an empty s-siding on that side of the y-yard, T-Thomas. You c-could sleep there!" She offered, smiling. Thomas saw the siding, nearby some trucks. He grinned.

"Thank you, Molly!" He said and eagerly moved towards the siding. BoCo raised an eyebrow at Molly as the little tank engine rolled onto the siding.

"Be careful with that siding, Thomas!" He called, "It hasn't been used in a while so the points are a bit rusty!" Thomas yawned as he found shelter.

"I'll manage!" He called, and drifted off to sleep. However, he hadn't noticed that the points had jammed against him.

* * *

The following day, Thomas woke up as the sun rose, and saw his fireman lighting his fire.

"I miss firelighter..." He muttered, and rolled out towards the end of the siding from the trees. However, when he approached the junction, he suddenly heard a whistle and a meek shout.

"S-stop, Thomas!" Molly called. Thomas slammed his brakes on and skidded to a halt just outside the junction. Molly sighed in relief when she saw that Thomas had stopped. Thomas frowned.

"What's the matter, Molly?" Molly smiled nervously.

"W-well, um, after you went onto the s-siding last night, the points j-jammed behind you. An inspector is c-coming on the express to f-fix them, but I'm afraid you'll have to w-wait here until they arrive." Thomas groaned.

"I have a train to pull in an hour! I'm bound to be late." Molly looked at Thomas sadly.

"I'm s-sorry, Thomas, but there really isn't anything you can d-do but wait." Thomas sighed as Molly returned to her shunting.

* * *

Eventually, the Inspector arrived on the first express of the day, and fixed the points. However, Thomas was already very late. He picked up Annie and Clarabel in a hurry, and sped down the branch line to try and make up for lost time, As Thomas sped along, he passed Bertie on the road. Bertie smirked as he saw Thomas zooming along.

"Hey, Thomas! How about a race?" Bertie asked, but Thomas was already far ahead. Bertie scoffed.

"A 'no thank you, Bertie' would have been enough!" He called.

* * *

Try as he might, Thomas couldn't make up all the time, and when he arrived at Knapford to drop off passengers for Gordon's afternoon express, he was still quite late. Gordon looked, amused, at the red-faced Thomas.

"You didn't return to the shed last night, little Thomas." Thomas scowled.

"That's because you all locked me out!" He seethed.

"Easy, Thomas!" Annie soothed. Gordon chuckled.

"Don't blame me, Thomas. Arthur was the one who insisted on shutting the shed doors. It's not our fault the locks are finicky." Gordon whistled and rolled away, leaving Thomas shocked.

"Arthur! First he nearly hits me, and now he makes me late!" Suddenly, he smirked.

"Well...let's see how _he_ likes it..." He chuckled. Annie and Clarabel shared a look.

"Oh, dear." They grimaced, fearing what was to come.

* * *

That night, Arthur took the mail, and returned to Tidmouth sheds to find the doors shut and a note stuck on Percy's berth. His driver took it and read it.

"'If you are locked out of Tidmouth Sheds, please go to...'" His eyes widened. Arthur raised an eyebrow,

"What is it, driver?"

* * *

"The Dump!?" Arthur spluttered as he pulled into the destination specified on the note. Whiff was finishing up some late night shunting and saw Arthur and grinned.

"Hello, Arthur! What brings you here?" He asked as the rubbish trucks moved forwards from inertia. This put their smell right in Arthur's path. Arthur grimaced before speaking.

"I got locked out of the sheds and was told to come here." He replied. Scruff, who was already parked in the shed, chuckled.

"Well, you've come to the right place! We've got plenty of room!" Arthur winced at the smell of the dump and rolled forwards.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, I-" Arthur rolled under an old crane. Whiff rolled forwards before crying out in horror.

"Arthur, look out!" It was too late. The rubbish the crane was holding fell from its clutches onto Arthur, who coughed as the rubbish cloud surrounded. Scruff winced.

"Whoops." He remarked. Arthur only groaned.

* * *

The following day, Thomas was at Elsbridge when he suddenly smelt something pongy.

" _What_ is that smell?" Clarabel shouted, disgusted.

"I think some got in my mouth!" Annie spat, groaning. Suddenly, they heard a whistle and Arthur rolled alongside, the smell clearly emanating from him. Thomas cringed.

"Arthur, I didn't expect you to stink _this_ badly!" Arthur looked away awkwardly.

"I wanted to apologize," He said quickly, "for locking you out of the sheds...and nearly hitting you too." Thomas' expression softened.

"Arthur, I-"

"I know I have a problem with being a bit wound-up. I guess I'm so focused at maintaining my spotless record that I let the well-being of others fall to the wayside. I'm trying to fix this and I'm sorry." He looked away again. Thomas smiled.

" _I'm_ sorry for getting upset at you and sending you to the dump. From your smell. I take it you had quite a night!" The two laughed. Arthur chuckled.

"Can we be friends again, please?" Thomas chuckled in return.

"Yes, Arthur, we can. I'm going to help you become less uptight too. Least I can do for getting you covered in rubbish!" The two engines laughed, and headed off to do their work. Annie and Clarabel looked at Thomas, and then back at Arthur, before laughing themselves.

* * *

Even after Percy returned from the Works, Thomas and Arthur remained friends. Thomas realized that Arthur was trying to fix his problems, and Arthur knew that when he regressed, it could make others upset. When Edward heard about their renewed friendship, he was very happy.

"My plan _did_ work," He said to Gordon at Knapford, "Just not in the way I expected."

* * *

One evening, Thomas and Arthur were at Norramby at the end of the day, and were watching the sun set.

"Thanks for helping me out, Thomas. Everyone says I've been loads better." Thomas chuckled.

"Who am I to _lock out_ the problems of a friend?" The two friends laughed as the sun disappeared over the horizon, bringing the moon into the sky, and with it, the night.

 **THE END**

* * *

A bit of a simpler story to continue the Thomas-Arthur conflict established in _Whaling._ Thomas as a lead is something I don't do often, but this is the first of two episodes he'll appear in in a major role. I got to write a few characters who haven't appeared in Set 2 yet, such as Molly, Marion, Whiff, and Scruff. Continuing the saga established in _Whaling_ was a goal I wanted to fulfill, as I haven't done much continuation from story to story. Not much to talk about here, but I hope you all enjoyed it! If you leave a review, not only tell me if you like it, but also tell me if I tied this story and its prequel together well.

What's next? Well,:

\- _Diesel Up, Sidney!_

 _\- The Polar Rocket_

 _\- Philip Runs Away_

 _\- Penelope the Railway Recorder_

 _\- Ladies' Night -_ Daisy drags Belle, Bonnie, and Penelope to the mainland for a "girls' night out", which quickly goes awry.


	42. Diesel Up, Sidney!

**DIESEL UP, SIDNEY!**

One day, Percy the Small Engine had to visit Crock's Scrap Yard to take a train of scrap to the Smelter's Yard. He whistled cheerfully as he rolled in, Reg turning around with a loud of scrap in his claw.

"Hi, Percy! Come to pick up all this _lovely_ scrap?" Reg grinned eagerly. Percy chuckled.

"Yes, Reg. I haven't been here in a while!" He chuckled, looking around at the scrap. Reg laughed jovially as he loaded the scrap into Percy's trucks.

"Not as many trains have had to run from here since we got our own furnace! We only send the larger pieces of scrap to the Smelter's Yard, and it's saving Mr. Crock a ton!" He chuckled. Percy frowned.

"Right, the Smelter's Yard." Percy scowled. Reg raised an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?" Percy sighed.

"I don't like going to the Smelter's Yard...'Arry and Bert are always being rude and threatening to scrap me!" He shuddered. Reg chuckled.

"I wouldn't listen to them, Percy; 'Arry and Bert are just big bullies! You're all loaded up, by the way!" Percy whistled and rolled away.

"Thanks, Reg!"

"No problem at all, Percy! Enjoy your run! Now back to _you!_ " He chortled, grabbing a load of scrap from the piles.

* * *

When Percy arrived at the Smelter's Yard, he found it completely deserted. He looked over the bleak piles of scrap to look for the two shunters.

"H-hello?" He called, but heard nothing. Nervously, he raced off towards a siding to get rid of his trucks. He heard something move behind the piles of scrap and his eyes darted around, terrified.

"Is anyone here?" He called. Quickly, he was uncoupled and tried to begin to race away, but he heard the humming of an engine. Suddenly, he heard loud coughing and saw smoke come out from behind a pile of scrap. Percy frowned.

"I know you're there, 'Arry!" Begrudgingly, the diesel shunter rolled out from behind the pile of scrap, his engine still spluttering smoke.

"Dangit...the jig's up, Bert!" Bert rolled out from behind another pile of scrap. Percy glared at them.

"You two never change, do you?" Bert chuckled darkly.

"'old your 'orses, Percy! We was only goin' to scare you, we was." He smirked widely. 'Arry, still coughing furiously, raised an eyebrow at Percy.

"You brought our scrap?" He spat harshly.

"Yes, it's on that siding over there."

"Good. Now get off our turf before you join it in the furnace!" Percy raised an eyebrow at 'Arry.

"I have to pick up empty trucks from here too!" He snapped. Bert grinned darkly.

"They're on the siding over there. They're a rowdy bunch!" He laughed. Percy rolled his eyes and was coupled up to the trucks. As he began to leave, he suddenly felt a bump at the rear of the train.

"Hey!"

"Don't let the door 'it you on the way out!" Bert cackled. Percy scowled as he left the scrapyard, off towards the open rails. Bert watched Percy leave, smirking, but looked back and saw 'Arry coughing furiously and frowned in concern.

* * *

Percy rolled along the line with his empty trucks. It was a relatively easy journey but the trucks began to cause trouble as Percy climbed Gordon's Hill. They held back against Percy's coupling, and caused the little engine to struggle furiously.

"All right!"

"All night!"

"You can puff and blow!"

"BUT ON THIS HILL, YOU'RE _STILL_ TOO SLOW!" Percy was red in the face as his wheels slipped.

"Be quiet!" He shouted, as he finally made it over the top of the hill. He laughed in relief, but suddenly felt weight against his rear buffers.

"We'll give you quiet!" The trucks cackled loudly as Percy sped down the hill much too quickly!

"OH NO!" He cried, as he approached the bend at the bottom of the hill. The trucks laughed as Percy flew off the rails and into the nearby field. Dirt flew everywhere until Percy finally come to a stop, on his side, with the cackling trucks surrounding him. Luckily, no one was hurt, but Percy was stranded.

* * *

Bert had moved Percy's scrap trucks into the large smelting shed to be unloaded, and was just backing out when he heard a growling engine and fierce coughing. He sighed.

"'Arry, you can't keep pushing your engine like this, mate." 'Arry backed away from the line of trucks he was trying to push, a scowl on his face. However, that scowl turned to sadness as he looked down at the rails.

"What 'appened to us, Bert?"

"What do you mean, 'Arry?"

"We used to be the _kings_ of melting things down. The _Grim Messengers of Doom,_ they'd call us. Now look at us! We only melt stuff every six weeks because of _Crock_ getting his own ruddy furnace! We can't even afford minor repairs, mate! I'm running on 'alf me engine right now! We need cash, Bert. We need it now, before me engine gives out." 'Arry sighed, and Bert looked sadly at him. Before Bert could speak, a loud whistle sounded out in the distance, interrupting him. Bert scowled.

"Ruddy steamers...OI, KETTLE! WE'RE TRYING TO 'AVE AN EMOTIONAL CONVERSATION OVER 'ERE!" However, when he looked back to 'Arry, the other diesel had a wide grin across his face. He began chuckling, and Bert raised an eyebrow.

"That's your 'I've got an idea' smile...you thought of something, 'aven't you?" He asked. 'Arry smirked.

"'ow'd we make our money in the old days, Bert?" Bert raised an eyebrow.

"By melting scrap?"

"What _kind_ of scrap, Bert?"

"Well, erm, that would be old steam engine parts, 'Arry." 'Arry smirked.

"What if we melted down a steamer, and sold their parts? No one ever comes up here anymore, so I doubt we'd get caught. Easiest money we've ever made!" He cackled loudly, before being interrupted by his spluttering engine and coughing furiously. Bert, however, was dumbfounded.

"What do you mean? 'ow would we not get caught?" 'Arry smirked.

"We'd 'ave an _accomplice_ , mate." Bert looked away awkwardly.

"What does that word mean, 'Arry?"

"Someone who 'elps us melt down the steamer, Bert."

"Oh. There's two of us already, 'Arry. Why would we need someone else?" 'Arry chuckled darkly.

"So we 'ave a _scapegoat,_ Bert."

"What do goats 'ave to do with anything?"

"Someone to pin the blame on, you idiot!" Bert's eyes widened in realization.

"Ah. But who wouldn't snitch on us after we did it?" Suddenly, the two heard a horn and saw a familiar face slip into the scrapyard. 'Arry grinned, his sinister intentions all over his face.

"'e'll do." Sidney, the forgetful diesel, rolled into the Smelter's Yard, looking rather lost. Smirking, 'Arry rolled over towards him, careful not to strain his engine.

"Sidney! 'ow are you, lad? What brings you to our 'umble smelter's yard?" He asked, grinning as pleasantly as he could muster. Sidney smiled.

"Hi, 'Arry! Erm...I was supposed to be doing something near here, but I don't quite remember what..." 'Arry grinned.

"You was supposed to come 'ere and 'elp us shunt some scrap!" 'Arry said. Sidney raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't sound right..." He muttered, but 'Arry smirked and buffered up behind him before pushing him towards the yard.

"I insist, Sid. We 'ave work to do, you know!" As 'Arry shunted Sidney towards the trucks waiting in the yard, Bert watched with worry before following after the other two diesels.

* * *

Sidney was soon enough hard at work, shunting trucks full of scrap around the sidings. 'Arry followed him around, instructing him how to do everything properly.

"Those trucks go in _that_ siding, Sid." He said, as Sidney moved some trucks onto a siding. However, the blue diesel was still worried.

"I think I'm forgetting something..." 'Arry very quickly rolled alongside him, his engine spluttering smoke. He coughed loudly before speaking again.

"Sid, I'm positive that you're not forgetting a thing, lad." Bert rolled alongside the duo.

"Erm, 'Arry..."

"Sid, why don't you get back to work?" Sidney rolled away, nervously.

"Um, alright, 'Arry." Sidney rolled away, and 'Arry's eyes snapped back to Bert.

"What is it, Bert?"

"'Arry, Sidney isn't supposed to be up 'ere!"

"And?"

"The Fat Controller could be coming soon, mate! If he's going to be our compass-"

"Accomplice, Bert."

"Yeah, that! If he's going to be our accomplice, we better teach 'im fast!" 'Arry smirked.

"Relax, Bert, we've already shunted the afternoon iron train. We 'ave the time." He rolled away, smoke coming from his engine again. Bert accidentally inhaled some of the smoke, coughed, and followed after 'Arry.

* * *

Sidney was shunting some trucks onto a siding when the Iron Twins rolled alongside.

"Hi, guys!" He said cheerfully. 'Arry smirked.

"Sidney, you've 'elped us out a great deal, mate. We owe you one." Sidney smiled.

"It's no problem at all, I think..." 'Arry grinned.

"Because you're our mate, and you've done such great work 'round 'ere, we was going to let you in on a little secret, eh?" Sidney looked nervous.

"A secret? I'm not very good with those..."

"Well, this is a very important secret, and we trust _you_ with it, Sid." Sidney tried to smile.

"Alright, 'Arry. What is the secret?" 'Arry smirked.

"We have a way of repairing steam engines that is faster than the Steamworks!" Sidney was amazed, but a dumbfounded Bert mouthed "Are you serious" before 'Arry shot a sharp glare at him. Bert subsided before Sidney spoke again.

"That's amazing! Can I see it?" 'Arry chuckled.

"Well, the thing is, we 'aven't tested it, mate. So, we 'ave special instructions for you."

"I'm not very good with those either..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, mate. Point is, if you see a steamer out on the main line in need of our 'elp, bring 'em into the main shed under the claw. We can 'elp 'em out there, eh?" Sidney frowned, while Bert looked at 'Arry in disbelief.

"I don't know if I'll be able to remember that, 'Arry." He said, concerned. 'Arry smirked.

"Trust me, Sid. You can practice right now with some trucks if you want!" Sidney smiled, although he was still clearly worried.

"Alright, 'Arry. I'll try." Sidney rolled away to gather a few empty trucks, while Bert looked at 'Arry, clearly upset.

"'Arry, this is an absolutely terrible idea! I know I'm not too bright, mate, but 'e's going to forget what we tell him to do as soon as we tell 'im! Can't we force someone else to do it?" 'Arry scowled.

"Me engine needs fixing, Bert. This is our plan and we're sticking to it. Unless you want out..." Bert glared, but resigned and followed after 'Arry to help Sidney.

* * *

Sidney buffered up to a line of trucks. He had his eyes shut and was focused on remembering what he had to do.

"Into the shed...into the shed..." He chanted. 'Arry and Bert rolled alongside, 'Arry smirking.

"Alright, Sid. It's a straight shot to the Sm-' _elping_ shed. Just focus, mate!" Sidney, his eyes still shut, began moving forwards. However, Bert's eyes widened as he saw the front of Sidney's train swerve.

"The points!" He cried. Sidney couldn't see, as a result of this he rammed into the afternoon iron train, pushing it towards the smelting shed. 'Arry gasped in horror.

"SID, STOP!" He cried, trying to roll forward but coughing furiously due to his engine. Sidney's eyes popped open, but the trucks soared forwards, rammed through the buffers and into the smelting pit. He gasped as the last of the trucks disappeared over the edge of the pit.

"Oh no!" Bert's jaw was practically on his running plate and 'Arry's eyes looked like saucers as their iron disappeared.

"This 'as been a terrible idea." Bert muttered.

* * *

Later, Murdoch arrived to collect his scrap train. However, when he arrived...

"We lost it. Sorry, mate." Bert said at the opening. Murdoch tried to speak, but 'Arry interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah, 'ow'd we lose it. It ain't important, mate. Just keep the Fat Controller out of our 'air and we'll do something nice for you." Murdoch opened his mouth to speak again, but 'Arry cut him off.

"That means buzz off, mate!" Murdoch rolled his eyes and backed away, annoyed at not being able to speak. Sidney rolled alongside 'Arry and Bert, looking apologetic. Suddenly, however, they heard the blast of a horn and Winston rolled around the bend after Murdoch had disappeared.

"Oh, no." 'Arry and Bert shared a look. Winston had the Fat Controller on board, and he came to a stop just nearby the three diesels. The Fat Controller was very cross.

"Sidney! What are you doing here? I sent you to rescue Percy from his accident _three hours_ ago!" Sidney's eyes widened.

"Oh. _That's_ what I was supposed to do..." Sidney muttered. The Fat Controller facepalmed before speaking again.

"Go get Rocky and help Percy _now,_ Sidney."

"Yes, sir!" Sidney rolled away, before cheerfully beginning to sing.

 _"Ha ha ha_

 _Hee hee hee_

 _Off to rescue my friend, Percy!_

 _Sir Topham Hatt,_

 _He is the boss!_

 _Gonna listen to him before he gets more cross!_ " As Sidney disappeared, The Fat Controller turned to 'Arry and Bert.

"I see the afternoon iron train didn't leave properly."

"Yeah, there was, erm, a bit of an accident, sir." Bert said sheepishly. The Fat Controller sighed.

"Just get back to work. I've got enough to deal with today..." He climbed back aboard Winston and began to drive away. However, as soon as he was out of sight, 'Arry began speeding away after Sidney. Bert's eyes widened.

"'Arry, where are you going, mate?"

"Making sure Sidney does this right!" Bert gasped.

"'Arry, he's probably already forgot! You're straining your engine, that's not good for it!"

"Bite me!" 'Arry disappeared, leaving a worried Bert behind.

* * *

It didn't take long for 'Arry to catch up with Sidney. The little blue diesel wasn't going very fast, but was peacefully singing to himself. 'Arry, however, was beginning to strain his engine as he struggled to get in Sidney's field of view.

"Come on! Come on! We need that cash! _I_ need that cash!" Suddenly, however, a huge cloud of smoke billowed from his engine and loud grinding sounded out. 'Arry gasped as Sidney got farther and farther away.

"No! NO!" He wailed, as he swerved onto a siding behind some trees. He coughed furiously as he finally ground to a halt. Sidney disappeared around a bend, while 'Arry remained on his siding, coughing furiously. He groaned, as he knew he had lost his chance.

* * *

Sidney picked up Rocky, as was soon enough rescuing Percy from his field.

"I'm sorry for being so long to rescue you, Percy, I was...well, I was...um..."

"You forgot?' Percy chuckled as Rocky lowered him onto the flatbed Sidney had waiting. Sidney winced.

"Yeah, I think..." Percy smiled as he was chained to the flatbed by the workmen.

"It's okay, Sidney. I forgive you." Sidney grinned.

"Alright, Percy. Are you ready to go to the Smelter's Yard?" Percy's eyes widened in confusion and horror.

" _The Smelter's Yard?_ Why would we go there? I need to go to the Steamworks!" Sidney raised an eyebrow.

"Don't they repair engines far more quickly at the Smelter's Yard than the Steamworks?"

"No! Who told you that?"

"I think it was...well, um...I forget. But _someone_ told me!" Percy sighed, troubled.

"Let's just go to the Steamworks, Sidney."

"Okay!" As Sidney cheerfully hummed and pulled Percy and Rocky along, his words about the Smelter's Yard echoed in Percy's mind.

* * *

'Arry had fallen asleep on his woodland siding, not noticing Bert zoom out from the line to the Smelter's Yard, clearly worried.

"'ARRY! 'ARRY! Where are you?" He called, but 'Arry didn't notice him roll by. The cloud of smoke from his engine was getting thicker and rising into the air.

After Sidney dropped Percy off at the Steamworks, he left to return to work. Percy was on the hoist when the Fat Controller walked in.

* * *

"Percy, I hope you are feeling better after your accident." Percy looked at the Fat Controller nervously.

"I'm fine, sir, but I think something's up with Sidney. He talked about someone telling him to bring me to the Smelter's Yard, and how they could repair me there faster than here!" The Fat Controller scratched his head.

"Well, Percy, it certainly wasn't me." Suddenly, a loud horn rang out and Bert zoomed into the Steamworks, looking terrified.

"Sir, sir! 'Arry's gone missing!" He panted. The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow.

"Has he now? Well, Bert, I think we need to pay a visit to the Smelter's Yard..." Bert coupled up to Rocky and the Fat Controller climbed in his cab and they set off.

* * *

Sidney was rolling along the line light-engine when he noticed a trail of smoke from behind some trees near the Smelter's Yard.

"Oh no! Maybe I'm supposed to take whoever _that_ is to the Smelter's Yard for repairs! Yes! That's it!" He rolled onto the siding, cab-to-cab with 'Arry, and was coupled up. 'Arry snored until Sidney started moving forward and he jerked awake with a start.

"Eh? Oh, about time you came to pick me up. Just take me to the Dieselworks so I can get a temporary fix..." He muttered. However, the voice he heard next startled him.

"I heard they can repair you faster at the Smelter's Yard!" 'Arry's eyes widened.

"Sidney?"

"Hello!" 'Arry gasped.

"Who told you that?"

"I don't exactly remember, but they were really nice! I'm sure the Smelter's Yard people can help you out in a jiffy!" 'Arry realized what happened immediately; Sidney had remembered his instructions, but not who had given them to him! He tried to resist, but he couldn't with his engine out of commission!

"Sidney, that's not a repair shed, that's a smelting shed!"

"Don't be scared, 'Arry!"

"WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? I'M GOING TO DIE!" 'Arry wailed as Sidney dragged him into the Ironworks, approaching the Smelting Shed.

"Repairs can hurt a little, but they're needed, 'Arry!" Sidney grinned cheerfully. 'Arry screamed as the light of dusk turned to the red light of the smelting shed. He looked around at all the smelting equipment, but his fear turned to terror when he saw what he was directly under.

"The claw!" He felt Sidney be uncoupled from him and race around in the other line.

"If you don't move me now, I'm going to be melted alive!" 'Arry shouted, terrified. Sidney chuckled, unfazed by 'Arry's fear.

"Everyone gets a little scared when they have to get repaired, 'Arry! It's like when people go to the doctor!"

"ONCE AGAIN, I'M GOING TO DIE!" 'Arry heard creaking from above and saw the giant scrap claw lowering down to grab him. Sidney smiled as the scrap claw closed around the screaming 'Arry and began lifting him into the air.

"Bye, 'Arry! Enjoy your repairs!" He called cheerfully. Tears began streaming down 'Arry's face as he was hoisted into the air. He shut his eyes, preparing for the inevitable. Suddenly, however, he stopped. His eyes opened and he saw something below that made him just as terrified as he had been before.

"Oh, bugger." The Fat Controller, along with a confused Sidney, a guilty-looking Bert, and a baffled Rocky were looking up at him. The Fat Controller's head snapped to Sidney.

"Sidney, what is the meaning of this?"

"'Arry broke down, sir, and I was trying to get him repaired!" The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow.

"By melting him down?" Sidney's eyes widened.

" _That's_ what that does?" The Fat Controller looked to 'Arry and Bert.

"I take it you two had something to do with this?" The twins shared a glance before Bert spoke up.

"We 'aven't got much money since Crock's got their own furnace, and we need repairs, sir. 'Arry probably needs a new engine now. We thought melting down a steamer would give us enough money to pay for it, sir. We made Sidney our congress-"

"Accomplice."

" _Accomplice,_ because we knew 'e'd forget as soon as 'e 'elped us. And, if we was caught, we blame 'im. He's be our scarecrow-"

"Scapegoat."

"Yeah, that. It didn't quite go 'ow we expected it to, sir." The Fat Controller looked at the two diesels.

"Well, I wouldn't be lying if I said I was upset with you two for this. This is by far the most malicious thing you two have ever done." The Iron Twins looked away guiltily.

"However," The Fat Controller continued, "I understand that I came from a place of self-preservation, and it is for this reason I will be reassigning you to odd jobs, in addition to paying for 'Arry's repairs." The twins looked happily at each other. The Fat Controller cleared his throat.

"I also expect you to apologize to Sidney for trying to take advantage of him." 'Arry and Bert shared a glance before awkwardly speaking up.

"Sorry, Sid."

"Yeah, sorry, Sid." Sidney smiled.

"I forgive you...what did you do again?" The Iron Twins shared a glance, with a significantly different perception of Sidney than they had before.

* * *

'Arry's repairs were soon complete, and the Iron Twins were assigned to take a train to the shunting yard. They saw Percy coupling up to some trucks and smirked at each other before rolling behind him and ramming the trucks. Percy yelped.

"Hey!" 'Arry and Bert laughed as they rolled alongside.

"Scaredy Percy's scared of a little bump!" Bert snickered.

"Keep your 'ead on mate, it's only us!" 'Arry cackled. Suddenly, however, the three engines heard a horn and Sidney rolled alongside.

"Hello, everyone!" He greeted cheerfully. Percy smiled at Sidney, but noticed 'Arry looking rather terrified.

"'Arry? Is something wrong?" 'Arry stared at Sidney, but he wasn't seeing the cheerful blue diesel; he saw the blue diesel with red eyes and sharp teeth, surrounded by flames and cackling maniacally. 'Arry gulped.

"Let's get out of here, mate." He rolled away as quickly as he could, dragging an equally frightened looking Bert with him. Sidney raised an eyebrow.

"What was that about?" He asked Percy. Percy laughed.

"I think 'Arry and Bert think you're their very own _Grim Messenger of Doom!_ " The two friends laughed as the sun shone high in the sky.

"Wait, why?"

 **THE END**

* * *

This was a fun one! A tiny, concentrated cast of characters who I've barely written, and a ridiculous Cockney accent to write in for 'Arry and Bert. They're two characters I didn't expect to like writing as much as I do, and I've defined 'Arry as the smarter but more stubborn one, and Bert as the dumber one who knows when to quit. Sidney was also fun to put in a major role, as his forgetfulness causing trouble was great. Some of you may have also noticed that Murdoch was in this episode; that was a sort of preview for the next special I'm writing after this set of episodes; _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber! _Like last special, I'm going to be revealing a few hints about it right here;

1) Despite his name being in the title, Thomas is not the main character again.

2) Murdoch is one of two returnees in the special.

3) A new location will be built.

4) Three of the six new characters are vehicles we have never seen in Thomas before.

5) A popular character from the Allcroft era is the main character, and his backstory will be explored.

6) The new location will expand the influence of the NWR on the outside world.

7) Unlike ROTRB, T&TBB will be told through four intertwining plots.

8) Beetle will return, but he will not be in the rest of Set 2.

9) The main villain is an engine.

10) The new characters will have archetypes we have never seen before in Thomas.

And always, what's next;

\- _The Polar Rocket_

 _\- Philip Runs Away_

 _\- Penelope the Railway Recorder_

 _\- Ladies' Night_

 _\- In the Presence of Proteus -_ Sir Handel is painted up like Proteus for the release of Mary Marvel's new book, but then goes around impersonating the actual Proteus after he realizes many of the other engines practically worship him.

 **\**


	43. The Polar Rocket

**THE POLAR ROCKET**

It was Christmastime on the Island of Sodor. The ground and trees were covered in snow, but the railways of Sodor continued doing their best to keep to time. Some engines like the snow; they think it pretty, and not too much of a nuisance.

"Out of the way, ye silly drifts!" Donald called as he and Douglas helped clear the tracks of snow.

"Woo! For Scotland!" Douglas shouted from the back of the cavalcade. They rolled along, spraying snow everywhere. They zoomed past a goods train, and some of their backsplash flew into the face of the engine at the head. The engine spit it out and groaned as the Caledonian twins sped by.

" _Ugh_." Class 40 groaned, as he rolled along with a line of vans headed up towards Ulfstead Castle. Other engines don't like snow at all. They think it gets in their way.

* * *

Bear the Hymek Diesel was waiting at Crovan's Gate with the Express, staring out at the grey sky.

"It'll snow soon..." He muttered. Before he could say anything else, he heard a quaint horn and Lenora the Catering Lorry puttered in on the road nearby. She smiled.

"Hello, dearie!" She called to Bear. Bear grinned.

"Hey, Lenora! I haven't seen you up here in ages!" Lenora chuckled faintly.

"I'm catering a Christmas party at Ulfstead Castle. I've never felt more chocked full of food in all my days, dearie, but _this_ lorry isn't one to complain about extra work!" The two laughed, before Lenora sighed happily.

"There's something special about working this time of year. Don't take it for granted, dear." Bear glared out into the snow.

"Good for you for liking it, Lenora, but I hate winter. My engine and snow don't really get along." Before Lenora could reply, a horn rang out and Class 40 rolled under the shelter of the station. He grumbled furiously as his vans bumped into each other.

"Ow, ow, ouch!" They groaned. Class 40 looked back at them and groaned. Bear smirked at the long diesel.

"You seem a bit sour, Class 40. Swallowing hats again?" Class 40 glared.

"Not in the mood, Bear." Bear and Lenora shared a glance.

"I take it something's wrong?" Lenora asked. Bear chuckled.

"Or, at least, you have something arbitrary to complain about." He grinned. Class 40 rolled his eyes.

"The Earl's on another _Christmas craze_ this year. Connor and Caitlin have had their coaches decorated, Millie and Duke have been dressed up as reindeer, and Glynn's had a ruddy Santa hat bolted over his lamp iron and is running caroling specials around the estate and surrounding stations!" Bear smiled.

"That sounds like fun!" Class 40 scowled.

"Not when _I'm_ the only doing any _actual_ work! I've been rushed off my wheels going to and from the mainland, bringing every which thing the Earl needs for his _wonderful_ Christmas party tonight!" He harrumphed loudly. Lenora smiled.

"I'm on my way to Ulfstead Castle too, dearie. I'm catering that party!" Class 40 snorted.

"Good. _Someone's_ pulling their weight..." His signal dropped and he honked his horn before continuing on towards Ulfstead Castle. Bear and Lenora shared a glance as Class 40 disappeared under the bridge. Lenora chuckled.

"I better get going, dearie. I've got a lot of food to deliver!" She honked her horn and rolled away, leaving Bear behind.

"Bye, Lenora!" He called, before starting off into the snow himself, looking unsure at the weather.

* * *

" _On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me..._ "

" _12 Drummers Drumming_

 _Eleven Pipers Piping_

 _Ten Lords a Leaping_

 _Nine Ladies Dancing_

 _Eight Maids a Milking_

 _Seven Swans a Swimming_

 _Six Geese a Laying_

 _Five Golden Rings_

 _Four Calling Birds_

 _Three French Hens_

 _Two Turtle Doves..._ "

" _And a partridge in a pear tree!_ " Glynn rolled into the platform with a load of carolers aboard his coach. They laughed as the song finished and disembarked.

"Thank you, Glynn!" One of the carolers said. Glynn smiled.

"My pleasure!" He chortled. As the carolers walked back across the platform, Glynn chuckled and looked up at his hat before blowing at the bobble on the end. Suddenly, he heard a whistle and Stephen rolled alongside him. Stephen grinned at Glynn.

"Hey, Glynn! How was the caroling tour?" Glynn smiled at him.

"Great fun. It feels great to use my singing voice again. The coaches always said I had a mean baritone back in the day!" The two old engines laughed. Stephen smiled sheepishly as their laughter subsided.

"Glynn, could I take the next tour? I haven't much to do around here lately..." He asked, looking at Glynn eagerly. Glynn looked away awkwardly.

"Sorry, Stephen, but I have the hat. It's festive!" He chuckled, although he clearly felt guilty. Stephen sighed.

"Oh, well...enjoy your tour, Glynn!" Stephen whistled and rolled away. As Glynn reversed to take on water behind him, Stephen heard a pair of whistles and grinned.

"Connor and Caitlin!" He grinned. The pair of streamlined engines raced into the castle, bickering playfully about the result of a race.

"I would have won if I hadn't hit that patch of ice!" Caitlin teased. Connor smirked.

"But you didn't, did you?" He replied. They braked into the platform, as the wreaths on their coaches shook. Connor grinned at Caitlin before they spoke.

"Welcome to Ulfstead Castle!" They called to their passengers. As the passengers disembarked, Stephen rolled alongside the two streamlined engines and whistled.

"Oh, hi, Stephen!" Caitlin smiled. Stephen grinned.

"Hey, you two! I see you've brought a lot of passengers for the Earl's party tonight!" Connor chuckled.

"We've been bringing them all day!" He laughed. Stephen cleared his throat.

"I was wondering if they wanted to take a tour around the estate? I haven't had much to-" He suddenly heard a whistle and Millie, antlers on her smokebox, rolled out of the platform with some passengers in her coaches. She smiled as she rolled past Stephen.

"Bonjour, Stephen!" She whistled as she rolled past with her coaches. Stephen frowned as Connor and Caitlin shared an awkward glance. Stephen tried to speak again, but he heard a whistle and Duke rolled past with the rest of the passengers. Stephen sighed and sadly rolled away.

* * *

Stephen sat on the line overlooking the cliffs surrounding the castle, staring at the snow-covered railway in front of him. He sighed woefully.

"Everyone's had something to do around here except me...I'm _the Rocket_! I can at least have a few tours to take!" His frustration turned to sadness once again as he suddenly heard a horn and spotted Class 40 ascending the hill below. He smiled as his friend rolled through the castle gates and into the platform. The diesel was uncoupled from his vans and rolled over to be refueled. However, he spotted Stephen and his scowl softened. He finished topping off and rolled alongside Stephen. The old engine smiled.

"Hey, big guy!" Stephen chuckled. Class 40 smirked.

"Hey, Stephen."

"That's quite a long train you just pulled in. Things for the party I assume?" Class 40's scowl returned.

"With you lot gallivanting off during the holiday season, _someone_ has to be doing the real work." Stephen frowned.

"Not _everyone_ is gallivanting off." He sighed sadly. Class 40's face softened before speaking.

"I take it you haven't been used much lately?"

"No. _Duke_ has been doing more than me, and he doesn't even live here!" Stephen sighed.

"I know winter isn't exactly my prime season, but it would be nice to have something to do." He looked sadly across the landscape, before Class 40 spoke up again.

"Stephen, you're the Rocket! If the Earl isn't using you, he doesn't know what he's missing! I'm sure you'll find some way to bounce back; you always do!" Stephen chuckled.

"You've grown a lot since you started working here, Class 40. Glad to see you actually being encouraging!" Class 40's scowl returned as he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well...don't tell anyone. Got a _reputation_ to uphold, you know." He tooted his horn and rolled away, leaving Stephen chuckling behind.

"Although...some things _never_ change!" He laughed and rolled away back into the castle. The grey sky above began to be covered by whirling snow, as a great snowstorm began...

* * *

Snow had begun to cover the island. Thomas rolled along the main line with his snowplough in front of him, squinting through the storm.

"This snow is thicker than I've ever seen!" He shouted.

"What?" Annie called.

"We can't hear you over this _wind_!" Clarabel added. Thomas squinted and spotted a pair of lights rolling along the nearby road.

"Poor cars. They don't have the rails to guide them in this storm like I do." He whistled and continued rolling along. The pair of lights was Lenora, trying to find her way to Ulfstead Castle.

"Oh dear, it's rather hard for me to see..." She tried to look further, but her lights could only shine so brightly. Suddenly, she saw a shadow rapidly approaching her and heard a loud horn.

"OUT OF THE WAY, LADY!" Lenora saw Monty racing towards her, and she rapidly swerved to get out of the way. She slipped on the icy road and swerved around.

"Oh no!" She cried. Luckily, she was out of Monty's way as the dump truck sped by, but when her eyes opened again she had completely lost her orientation.

"Now, I was going that way...or was I going that way? Oh dear..." She was hopelessly lost.

* * *

Back at the castle, the passengers had been gathered in the main hall of the interior of the castle, due to the raging snowstorm outside. As the passengers milled about, the Earl stood up on a crate and spoke up.

"Everyone! We don't think we will be able to get you home safely this evening." There was a buzz among the passengers, before the Earl put his hand up.

"However, we will be able to keep you all overnight for a train back to your homes first thing in the morning, free of charge." The passengers talked amongst themselves.

"Sounds fair."

"It _is_ snowing very hard." The Earl held his hand up again.

"We will be having the food in here when we are set up! So if you could please wait for while, that would be great!" The passengers began talking amongst themselves as the Earl put on his winter things and ran outside to the sheds. Glynn, Stephen, Connor, Caitlin, and Class 40 were in the standard gauge sheds, and Millie and Duke were in the narrow gauge ones nearby. The Earl ran up to them.

"Alright, everyone, we have to act quickly! This snow is getting worse and we need to make everyone warm! I've made a few calls and a load of firewood and blankets is waiting in the shunting yards."

"Surely, your grace, you're not sending any of us?" Duke asked. Class 40 rolled his eyes.

"I'm guessing _I've_ got to go and pick it up? Seeing as I'm the only one who can get down there without getting stopped by any snow getting in my fuel source?" The Earl scratched the back of his head.

"That was the plan."

"Whatever. It's for the passengers." The Earl clapped his hands together.

"Splendid, Class 40! I know you won't let me down!" He ran back into the confines of the castle as Class 40 prepared to leave. Stephen looked nervously out into the blizzard.

"Be careful out there, Class 40. This weather isn't looking too good." Class 40 smirked.

"A little ice and snow is no problem for me." Duke snorted and rolled his eyes. Stephen chuckled.

"Alright, Class 40, just come back safe." Class 40 smirked.

"Will do." He honked loudly and charged off into the blizzard, leaving Stephen and the other engines behind.

* * *

Class 40 charged through the snow to the shunting yards, knocking snow aside. At first, it wasn't too difficult, but he began slowing down as he approached the yard.

"Come on...come on..." He honked loudly. Suddenly, he passed James, shivering in the blizzard, covered in snow with a goods train. Class 40 winced as James' teeth chattered.

"Would hate to end up like him. I better get out of this storm quickly." He sped ahead, as the snow built up around James. The red engine shivered as the snow continued picking up.

* * *

By the time Class 40 arrived in the shunting yards, he could barely see the line ahead of him. He was coupled up to a few vans, and honked before heading back out into the blizzard again.

"This stuff's thick!" He shouted, but the whirling wind drowned him out.

* * *

Class 40 raced along the line back towards the castle, his lights shining through the thick snow. Suddenly, he saw two lights blinking on the side of the road and heard a voice calling out.

"Hello? Hello?" Class 40 saw the lights getting closer and finally saw the shape of Lenora on the side of the road. He braked to a halt.

"Lenora? I thought you were supposed to be at the castle!" Lenora frowned.

"Yes, dearie, but I lost my way. I have no idea how to get up to the castle from here. I think I'll have to stay here until the snow clears and I can figure out where I am." Class 40 assumed a determined expression.

"My line is set right to the castle. Follow me and you should get there all right." Lenora smiled.

"Thank you, dearie. I appreciate your kindness."

"Yeah, well, who am I to leave an old lady out in the cold? I'm not _that_ heartless." Lenora got back on the road, and began following Class 40 up towards the castle.

* * *

The snow was the thickest it had been, and all Class 40 and Lenora could see are the lights of each other's lamps. However, the two remained traveling side by side until they approached the junction nearby Ulfstead Castle.

"The castle's up the hill! Just follow the road and you can't miss it! I'm going to follow you! " The diesel shouted over the storm. Lenora smiled.

"Thank you for helping me out, dear! See you at the top!" Lenora honked her quaint horn and turned onto the road leading up the castle, doing her best to push the snow aside. Class 40 watched her lights disappear up the road, and began approaching the junction.

"Alright, I've got to climb this hill and get back inside before I freeze." Class 40 backed up to try get a run up the hill, but felt his wheels slip on the ice before he braked to a halt again.

"That's bound to be _great_ for my brakes." He muttered sarcastically. He began rolling forwards to get a run up the hill. However, he felt his wheels slip on the ice and he soared through the junction, trying desperately to regain traction. However, he slipped over the points and beyond the junction.

"Ouch!" Finally, his wheels grinding on the rails, he skidded to a halt beyond the junction. He growled furiously.

"Great." However, when he tried to reverse, he felt the brakes of the brakevan surge against him.

"HEY!" He braked to a halt again, before his crew hopped down and ran to the back of the train. When they returned, they had bad news.

"The points are frozen against us, Class 40. We'll have to find another junction where we can go back around." Class 40 scowled.

"Great. The Earl won't be happy about this." He hooted his horn and disappeared back into the blizzard again to try and find another junction.

* * *

Lenora charged up the hill, fighting against the snow as she pounded her old wheels on the winding roads.

"I don't need snow tires like the younger cars do!" She shouted bravely. She suddenly felt herself slipping on the ice and revved her engine, grimacing as she regained control.

"Though they'd be nice..." Finally, she saw the rear gates of the castle and raced inside, finally shielded from the snow. The engines heard her panting as she rolled to a halt nearby the sheds. She honked her horn as she finally stopped.

"Food's here, dearie!" She called, red-faced. The engine shared surprised looks, but the Earl ran outside and smiled.

"Good to see you, Lenora! I was worried you had been lost in this blizzard with the food! We'll unload you as soon as possible; the guests are getting hungry!" The Earl sprinted back inside to tell the guests, and Lenora's crew began unloading her. The engines looked at the snow-covered Lenora, who let out a sigh of relief.

"It's a little less chilly now..." She chuckled. She suddenly shuddered and coughed as snow fell off of either side of her. Stephen looked out nervously into the raging storm.

"It's really that bad?"

"Yes, dearie. In fact, if it weren't for Class 40, I'd still be lost out there!" Connor and Caitlin shared a worried glance at Stephen.

"You saw him?" Stephen asked. Lenora smiled.

"Yes! He brought me to the junction! Isn't he up here already?" Stephen stared out into the storm, terrified.

"He's _stuck_ out there? It's far too dangerous for _any_ engine to be out there right now! We've got to go rescue him!" Stephen tried to roll forwards out of the shed, but Connor cut him off.

"Whoa, there, Stephen! You're not heavy or fast enough to go out in this weather! You'd be blown off the rails!"

"It's not safe for _any_ engine in this weather, Stephen. I'm sure that he's alright, and even if he isn't, there's no point putting any more of us in danger!" Caitlin added. Stephen frowned and sped ahead of Connor as he reversed.

"Young engines these days are cowards! I'm sick of not doing anything around here! I'm not afraid of _anything!_ I'm _the Rocket!_ " He whistled and broke into a print towards the castle gates. Connor tried to chase after him, but Stephen rolled out into the blizzard, too far ahead. Connor stood at the gates, watching the silhouette of Stephen disappear in the snow.

"Stephen!" He cried. The old engine was rolling down the hill, shivering against the freezing cold.

"Look sharp, my friend! I'm coming to save you!" He shouted over the wind, before charging towards the junction and onto the main line.

* * *

Class 40 continued fighting his way through the storm searching for a junction to turn around. The snow was beginning to get even more thick, and he was starting to shiver.

"The Earl owes me for this one..." He muttered. Suddenly, he heard a voice carried over the wind.

"Help! Somebody!" Class 40 frowned determinedly.

"On the way!" He grit his teeth as he wrestled his way onto the siding the shouts were coming from. Finally, he saw the source of the shouting.

"Rocky? What are you doing out here?" Rocky the Crane shuddered, snow on his roof.

"I had to complete a rescue but I got left out here. Don't worry about me though; I've been through worse!" Class 40 sighed and buffered up to Rocky, and he was coupled up by his driver.

"You'll freeze if I leave you here. I'll take you up to Ulfstead Castle when I find a place I can turn around." Rocky chuckled.

"Funny how things work out, Class 40; I save you after your accident with those trucks, you save me when I'm stuck in this blizzard. I guess we're kind of even!" Class 40 rolled his eyes.

"Don't push it." He muttered, and charged back into the raging blizzard, Rocky at the front, and his train disappearing into the blizzard as he did.

* * *

Stephen struggled against the snow and wind, trying to stay on the rails.

"Come on...what's a little wind to me? Class 40 need to my help!" He whistled and tried to speed up. His driver, huddled by his controls to try and shield himself from the cold, spoke up.

"Easy, Stephen. I'm sure Class 40 wouldn't want you flying off the rails!" However, Stephen ignored him and increased speed. The wind picked up and Stephen suddenly felt himself losing control as he approached a bend.

"HELP!" He wailed as the wind swept from under him and began pushing him off the rails. His crew leapt clear as he collided with the ground with a loud "CRASH". A cloud of snow rose from the ground as he skidded to a halt. His crew sprinted over.

"We have to find help!" The driver shouted over the wind. He looked in both directions, but saw nothing but open countryside. Not even a station in sight.

"Or not." He sighed, and he and the fireman tried to find shelter under Stephen's frames, but it wasn't much.

* * *

Class 40 finally found a junction to reverse back down the line to the castle, and he and Rocky forged their way through the storm, the guard in the brakevan on the end of the train keeping watch for anything on the line.

"I can see the hill up to the castle!" The guard called. Class 40 began braking.

"Finally. We'll be out soon, Rocky!" He honked his horn and began surging up the hill, pushing Rocky and pulling the train of firewood and blankets. The wind began to pick up, and Rocky felt himself begin to wobble.

"Whoa! The wind's going to push me over!" Rocky cried. Class 40 growled and increased his speed, finally managing to push Rocky through the front gates of the castle, with the rest of his train following behind. He honked loudly as he rolled to a stop.

"I'm here!" He shouted. However, the Earl ran over.

"Class 40! You're alright! Did you see Stephen?" He asked urgently. Class 40 raised an eyebrow.

"What? Is he not here?"

"He went off into the blizzard to find _you!_ Where did you go after you showed Lenora the junction?" Duke asked, angry. Class 40 glared.

"I overshot the junction and the points froze behind me, old man, calm down." Duke harrumphed. Class 40 looked back to the Earl.

"Is Stephen _out there? Right now?_ " He asked, bewildered.

"He insisted on going to save you!" Millie called. Class 40 guffawed.

"And you _let_ him? It's like I'm the only one with _any_ common sense around here!" He spat, bewildered. The other engines awkwardly looked away. The Earl cleared his throat.

"Class 40, we have to find him! He doesn't have a cab and could get terrible water damage from all this snow!" Class 40 frowned.

"Alright. If he'd rescue me, I'll rescue him." He was uncoupled from the vans and began reversing, but Rocky called out.

"Class 40, take me with you! There isn't much you can do to save him without a crane!" He called. Class 40 zoomed around Rocky and buffered up to his front.

"Right. Let's go." He honked and rushed out into the blizzard, Rocky in front, the Earl in his cab with his crew.

* * *

Stephen shivered on his side, as the snow piled up around him.

"Great. Not only is Class 40 still stuck out there, but now I'm stuck too! So much for being _the Rocket_..." Stephen sighed, but he suddenly saw a light in the distance, and heard shouting.

"Stephen! Stephen!" Stephen immediately knew who it was.

"Class 40! Over here!" He called. He heard a horn and the screeching of brakes and Class 40 rolled into view, with Rocky behind him.

"Stephen! Are you alright?" Class 40 shouted over the storm. Stephen chuckled, before sneezing due to the cold.

"I think I'm fine, but my driver and fireman need to get inside as soon as possible! It's freezing out here!" Rocky grinned as he whirred into life.

"This is where I come in!" Quickly, Class 40's crew and Stephen's crew worked together to rig Stephen up to Rocky's chains. Fighting against the blizzard, Rocky maneuvered Stephen back onto the rails. He shivered pitifully as the Earl ran over.

"Stephen! What were you thinking going out in this weather?" The Earl shouted over the raging storm. Stephen sighed and guiltily looked away.

"Everyone's been doing things at the castle but me. Class 40's my friend, and I wanted to be able to rescue him so I could actually contribute something! It's no fun sitting around the castle all day...I'm so sorry." Class 40 smiled at Stephen from behind Rocky, but the Earl sighed.

"Stephen, I wasn't giving you jobs because I didn't want to wear you out for the rest of the year! A lot of your parts are made of wood, so you'll be damaged more easily by this weather. Come spring, I was going to put you right back on your original tour schedule!" Stephen grinned.

"Thank you! I-oh. I just made a bit of a fool of myself, didn't I?" He chuckled. Class 40 smirked.

"A bit." He teased. The Earl turned back to Class 40.

"Class 40, can you make it back to Ulfstead Castle on your own? Stephen and Rocky aren't exactly very light!" Class 40's smile faded.

"Why do you even bother asking if there isn't another option?" The Earl chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes. Onward, Class 40!" He climbed back into the cab as Class 40 buffered up behind Stephen and was coupled up by the crew. Stephen's crew climbed in Class 40's rear cab to warm up, and the diesel honked his horn loudly.

"Alright, let's get you lot back to the castle!" He shouted determinedly, and surged onwards. Stephen smiled as Class 40 pushed him along.

"Thanks for helping an old engine out."

"You'd do the same for me. We're friends, might as well act like it." Stephen chuckled as the cavalcade made their way up to the castle.

* * *

When Stephen, Class 40, and Rocky returned, they were greeted warmly by the other engines and Lenora.

"Splendid work, Class 40!"

"Stephen, are you alright?"

"Oh, hello, Rocky!" However, Class 40 silenced them with a honk of his horn.

"Can you all be quiet? I've been doing nothing but running errands for you lot all day today; least you could do is let me have some rest!" The Earl finished helping Stephen's crew inside towards the blazing fire in the fireplace, and turned around.

"Class 40 is right, you all. Try to get some sleep. Stephen, I'll ask the Fat Controller to send an engine to take you to the works to tomorrow." Stephen smiled.

"Thank you, sir." He yawned. Class 40 shunted him into the shed, before uncoupling and rolling alongside. Lenora rolled alongside the engine sheds as well, chuckling a bit before falling asleep. Rocky snored away on his siding. Soon enough, almost all of the engines were asleep as the storm howled around the castle. They were glad to be safe in their shed. Stephen opened a sleepy eye and looked to Class 40 in the shed nearby.

"Psst...Class 40!" The large diesel snorted.

"What? Oh, what is it, Stephen?" He snapped, clearly exhausted.

"Merry Christmas!" Class 40 scoffed and shut his eyes again. Stephen chuckled before going to sleep again. However, when Stephen began snoring again, Class 40 popped an eye open again and smiled at him.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Stephen." He shut his eyes, as singing sounded from the main hall of the castle.

" _Should auld acquaintance be forgot,_

 _And never brought to mind?_

 _Should auld acquaintance be forgot,_

 _And days o'_ _lang syne!_

 _For auld lang syne, my dear_

 _For auld lang syne_ _..._ "

" _We_ _'ll take a cup of kindness yet_

 _For auld lang syne_ _..._ " Class 40 finished quietly, before falling asleep, happy to be surrounded by his friends.

 **THE END**

* * *

A bit of an early festive episode on Thanksgiving! And with it, some characters who I haven't written in ages! Class 40's last major role was his return in _Top of the Class,_ and Lenora's even longer before that in _Duncan & Lenora! _As a bit of a footnote, as I didn't make this clear in her debut, Lenora has Caroline-styled lamp eyes. Why? Because I think it looks cool. I think this episode had a brilliantly fun cast and was a blast to write. Class 40's sarcasm and grumpiness adds something new to the dynamic at Ulfstead Castle, and this is the first time I've really been able to explore it. Although, under all that negativity, he is truly beginning to become a good engine, as he's already dumped his hatred of steam engines (as hinted at in his appearance in _The Diesel Divide_ ). Writing Stephen in a major role was fun too. The episode was originally mainly meant to be about Stephen, but Class 40 gained more and more of a major role as I wrote it, and it's just as much his episode as Stephen's. Hopefully you enjoyed what you read, and if you did, leave a review! Of course, you may be wondering about several details in this story that were not resolved; Bear's hatred of snow, what James was doing, etc. Well, let's just say that like _Whaling_ and _Thomas Gets Locked Out,_ this story has a counterpart story that takes place at the same time... _James & The Polar Bear._

What's next?:

\- _Philip Runs Away_

 _\- Penelope the Railway Recorder_

 _\- Ladies' Night_

 _\- In the Presence of Proteus_

 _\- James & The Polar Bear - _James teases Bear about his hatred of snow after engine problems cause him to be temporarily removed from express duties.


	44. Philip Runs Away

**PHILIP RUNS AWAY**

One cold winter day, Stafford the Electric Engine was returning to Knapford after taking a train to Arlesburgh.

"I need to have a rest in the shed; this is wearing out my battery!" He muttered to himself. He rolled towards the shed nearby the station and shut his eyes, easily breathing in and out. Suddenly, however, he heard a horn and his eyes shot open.

"Gah!" His eyes darted around and saw a familiar yellow-green boxcab next to him. He rolled his eyes.

"Hi, Stafford!" Philip shouted cheerfully.

"Hello, Philip." Stafford replied, clearly annoyed at being woken up. Philip grinned.

"How was Arlesburgh?" He asked eagerly. Stafford yawned.

"Same as it always is, Philip." He replied. Philip grinned.

"I'd like to go up there someday, you know! Oh, and Norramby Boardwalk, and the Blue Mountain Quarry, and..." Stafford chuckled.

"Sounds like you want to be quite the traveler, Philip." Philip's face fell.

"Yes, but I can't go far beyond the yard. The furthest I ever go is Brendam Docks, but that's the not the same of going all over the island like the other engines do! You can go to Arlesburgh, and all of these fun places, but I'm stuck here." Stafford looked away awkwardly as Philip sighed.

"Well, um, sorry to hear that, Philip, but I've got to go now. Charge my battery, you know." Stafford rolled away, leaving Philip behind. Philip watched Stafford leave with a sad expression on his face.

"Bye, Stafford! Enjoy your rest!" He called, before sighing and zooming away. Stafford was concerned for Philip. He had never seen the little boxcab so upset.

"Maybe Toby can cheer him up..." He muttered as he rolled towards the shunting yards.

* * *

However, when he saw the little diesel, Toby couldn't do much to help either.

"You've been tons of places I haven't, Philip!" He said encouragingly as Philip shunted some coaches into the platform nearby.

"And you went to the Great Railway Show! That's surely exciting!" Henrietta added from behind him. Philip sighed.

"It's not the same. I don't go to the Great Railway Show every day!" Philip rolled forwards with his coaches and bumped into the engine at the front of the train.

"Philip! Watch where you're going! You can't race about in the station!" Gordon scolded from the front of the train. Toby winced as Philip turned red.

"Sorry, big engine! My brakes aren't really suited to all this snow and ice..."

"He just got a little distracted, that's all, Gordon." Toby said. Gordon harrumphed.

"What could he possibly have to be upset about? He's not the one who pulls express trains back and forth from Vicarstown several times a day! And I can't even _try_ to break my speed record because of all the ice!" Suddenly, the engines heard a whistle and Thomas rolled into the station, laughing.

"I thought you thought pulling the express was a position of prestige, Gordon?" He called, smirking. Gordon scoffed. Philip, however, was amazed at Gordon's words.

"Vicarstown! That's all the way on the other side of the island! Gordon goes there every day!" He muttered. He grinned and raced away to shunt more coaches. Gordon was coupled to the express and the guard's whistle blew.

"Express coming through!" He called and sped out of the station towards the main line. Thomas chuckled, but noticed Toby looked worried.

"Toby, what's wrong?"

"It's Philip, Thomas. He's feeling a little...cooped up in the yard."

"I know how that feels." Thomas replied. Toby sighed.

"I wish there were something I could do for him..."

"There, there, Toby. You've done everything you can." Henrietta soothed. Thomas smiled.

"I'll see if I can think of anything to help him out." He whistled and rolled away, leaving Toby in the station.

* * *

The ground was covered in snow and ice, and the engines had to take considerable care in order to prevent themselves from slipping. Philip and Stafford were having a rest when James bustled in, his brakes sparking as he came to a stop on the icy rails.

"Here's James!" He called, skidding forwards until he just passed the two resting engines. Stafford rolled his eyes.

"Come for your coaches, James?" He called. James smirked.

"That I have. Now, please, hurry up. I don't want to let the snow make me late!" Stafford began rolling away, but Philip cut him off at the points.

"I can get James' coaches, Stafford!" He grinned. Stafford raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose, but-"

"Great! See you at the platform, James!" Philip honked and sped away to fetch James' coaches. James grinned.

"Be quick about it, Philip!" He called, and rolled off towards the station.

* * *

Philip eagerly went to fetch James' coaches from their siding. He backed onto them and was coupled up before speeding away towards the platform.

"Yahoo! Yippee!" He called, dragging the coaches behind him. As he approached the station, he shut his eyes and began imagining himself speeding along the main line.

"Boxcab express coming through!" He called in his dream as he zoomed along the line. Suddenly, however, he snapped out of it as his brakes slammed on.

"Easy, Philip! You've overshot the platform!" The stationmaster called. Philip blushed.

"Sorry!" He rolled backwards into the platform, the coaches rattling to a halt behind. Philip looked around the station, and noticed something.

"Where's James, Mr. Stationmaster?"

"Off taking on water, I expect." The stationmaster replied. He walked away, leaving Philip coupled to the coaches at the front of the train. The boxcab stared longingly out into the junction, watching trains roll in and out of the station. He closed his eyes and imagined himself speeding along the line with the coaches again.

"Whee!" Philip called in his dream. He didn't notice that a shunter came and put the coaches' brakes on while he wasn't looking while he rested! Philip smiled until he suddenly heard a loud whistle that snapped him out of his trance.

"OH!" He cried. James was sitting on the line nearby, unamused.

"Move, Philip! That's my train!" Philip blushed and jerked forwards.

"Sorry, James! I-WHOA!" Philip felt his wheels turning faster and faster, but he wasn't going anywhere!

"What's happening?" He asked, as he slipped on the ice, still coupled to the coaches. James glared and whistled loudly.

"Move, Philip!"

"I'm trying, James!" Philip struggled, but his wheels continued to make grooves in the slippery rails. James rolled his eyes and rolled around to the back of the station before winding up to ram into the coaches.

"Well, you're not _trying_ hard enough!" James banged into the coaches, causing them to bang into Philip. The little boxcab shot forward, the coupling between him and the coaches snapping.

"Whoa!" Philip cried as he shot into the junction. Henry was crossing the junction with a long goods train when he saw Philip sliding towards the points he was crossing.

"Henry, look out!" The boxcab cried.

"Oh no!" Henry rapidly sped up, getting out of the way just in time. His train wasn't so lucky. Philip collided with Henry's trucks and came off the rails, knocking over the trucks onto the junction and falling into the snow, although he was still upright. Henry's trucks flew all over the junction, tipping their contents onto various junctions, blocking the way. Philip groaned woozily as the trucks cackled.

"Oh no!" He cried, looking at the havoc strewn across the junction. The line was blocked, and all trains were halted.

* * *

It took a long time to clear up the mess. Philip was shunted aside while the cranes worked to put the trucks back on the rails. Luckily, nobody was hurt, and Philip and the trucks hadn't suffered much damage. However, the little boxcab felt terrible. Finally, trains were able to pass through. Many had choice words for Philip.

"This delay is disgraceful!" Gordon called as he passed.

"Disgusting!" James added.

"Despicable!" Henry finished. Philip felt miserable. However, in the station platform nearby, Thomas noticed Philip's sad expression and frowned.

"Poor Philip..." The guard's whistle blew and he rolled away.

* * *

That night, Thomas had to stay out late shunting trucks at Ffarquhar.

"Ouch! Owie!" They cried as Thomas bumped them into the buffers. Thomas, however, wasn't thinking about the trucks.

"Poor Philip...this winter weather isn't good for him. He's too light." Before he could continue his thought, he heard a whistle and Logan the Industrial Engine arrived with the evening's coal delivery. His face was bright red and he looked exhausted.

"Is this-phew-the last stop, Hector?" He asked the large black hopper behind him. Hector sighed.

"Sorry, Logan. We've got to go all the way down the Little Western next." Logan groaned.

"I've been rushing about for _seven hours_ making all these deliveries! And there's still trucks to shunt back at the plant! _And_ I can't feel my wheels! It's freezing!" Hector chuckled as the truck behind him was unloaded into the coal hopper.

"I hear you on that last one. It was _never_ this cold in Spain." He shivered. Logan sighed.

"Everyone is going to need coal in this winter. That means more rushing about for me!"

"Now, Logan-"

"Hector, I can't do this for another two months! I need _help_ at the Coaling Plant!" Thomas, who had been listening, gasped.

"That's the _perfect_ job for him!" He said happily, startling both Logan and Hector.

" _¡Ay dios mio!_ "

"Where'd you spring from?" Thomas backed away from the trucks.

"Don't worry, Logan. Help is on the way! I just need to speak to The Fat Controller!" He whistled and raced away down the branch line. Logan raised an eyebrow as Thomas disappeared.

"What on earth was _that_ about?"

* * *

Philip stayed in the yard all night, and didn't sleep well at all. He watched the sun rise, feeling absolutely exhausted.

"The Fat Controller is sure to be upset with me...I'll never get to leave the yard now!" He sighed.

"What makes you think that, Philip?" Philip's eyes snapped to the line in front of him, where the Fat Controller was standing.

"Oh! Um, hello, sir!"

"I've been told that you've been wanting a change of scenery?" Philip looked sad.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I...why are you frowning, Philip?"

"I know you're going to shut me up in the shed, sir, because of the accident I caused yesterday." The Fat Controller smiled.

"Philip, I know that wasn't your fault. Ice and snow caused the accident! That's why I'm sending you to work at the _coaling plant_ for the rest of the winter!" Philip's eyes widened in amazement.

"The coaling plant! Wow! I've never been there before! Thank you so much, sir!" He began to wind up to speed away, but the Fat Controller held out his hand.

"Just a moment, Philip!"

"But I'm so _excited_!"

"I know, but just one moment! I need you to stay in the yard up there once you're there! Logan has coal deliveries to make, and needs someone to manage the yard. He'll teach you once you arrive!" Philip grinned.

"I won't let you down, sir!" He honked his horn and sped away towards the coaling plant. The Fat Controller smiled and returned to his office.

* * *

Logan, however, was worried.

"I've never taught anyone before! I don't know anything about it! I lose track of trucks in this yard all the time! How am I supposed to show another engine how to run it? I-"

"Logan!"

"I'm a doer, not a teacher! I'm not smart enough for this! I-"

"Logan!"

"Hector, you're far more cut out for this than I am!"

"Logan! He's here!" Logan's eyes widened as a loud horn sounded out from down the line.

"Oh bother." He heard the sounds of a whirring engine.

"Hi! Hello! Logan! Where are you? I'm Philip! I'm _very_ fast!" Philip zoomed into the Coaling Plant. Logan gasped.

"Philip, look out!"

"Huh?" Philip slammed into a line of coal trucks, causing dust to fly from the trucks and onto his paintwork. He coughed and looked at his coal dust covered paint.

"Oh, um, sorry..." He backed up from the trucks. The furious trucks grumbled.

"Watch where you're going!" One called. Logan's fear turned to amusement.

"Heh. You really are green, aren't you?"

"And yellow!" Philip added innocently. Logan chuckled.

"You know what? If the Fat Controller thinks I can do this, who am I to prove him wrong? Come on, Philip!" Logan whistled and rolled onward. Philip grinned.

"Okay, Logan!" He honked his horn and began reversing towards the coal hopper. Hector called out.

"Philip, look out!" Philip braked under the hopper and was covered with coal. A cloud of dust rose around him as his soot-covered paint finally came into view. He coughed.

"Sorry!" Logan chuckled.

"Come on, Philip! Let's get to work!" Logan rolled onwards and Philip honked his horn.

"Alright!" He sped after Logan. Hector, watching from a siding, chuckled.

* * *

Philip had backed down onto a line of heavy coal trucks, while Logan and Hector watched from a siding.

"Alright, Philip, just take the trucks across the yard!" Logan called, semi-nervously. Philip grinned from the front of his train.

"Yes, sir!" Philip honked and began struggling forwards.

 _Just because we're small_

 _Doesn't mean we don't stand tall_

 _And pull our weight like all the others do_

Little did Philip know, the trucks' brakes were on. His wheels whirred, but he barely moved anywhere. His face turned bright red as his wheels spun round and round.

 _You'd be surprised,_

 _In spite of our size,_

 _Just what little engines can do!_

Suddenly, the coupling chain snapped and Philip flew forwards, leaving the cackling trucks behind him. A loud "CRASH" was heard, and coal dust blew from his direction. Logan winced and shared a look with Hector, before speeding off after Philip.

 _Little Engines, Little Engines,_

 _Little Engines can do the biggest things._

Logan and Philip stood alongside one another near some giggling coal trucks. Logan whistled and cheerfully rolled ahead to bump some trucks, Philip watching curiously.

 _Little Engines, Little Engines,_

 _Little Engines can do most anything._

Logan looked back to Philip and whistled. Philip bumped into the trucks, managing to get them moving forward.

 _They'll carry on until the work is over,_

 _They'll carry on 'til the end,_

Philip rolled alongside Logan with his trucks, managing to get them to come to a gentle stop against the buffers. Logan smiled at Philip as the little boxcab happily laughed at his good work.

 _They're the smallest in the station, don't underestimate them,_

 _'Cause they're not little engines after all._

Philip and Logan moved past each other on opposite lines, shunting lines of trucks. Hector was at the front of Logan's, and smiled as he saw the dirty Philip easily breeze by with the coal trucks, although the trucks looked quite non-plussed.

 _They're our favourite little engines,_

 _They're mighty little engines!_

 _They're not such little engines after all!_

Philip zipped around the yard, moving coal trucks into their proper places. Eventually, he was coupled to the same line of trucks he couldn't move earlier. He looked at Logan, who smiled back at him, before grinning determinedly.

 _They're not such...little engines after all!_

Philip strained and struggled, but he finally got the trucks moving across the yard. He laughed eagerly as Logan and Hector shared proud grins.

* * *

Philip was soon fitting in well at the Coaling Plant. He bumped the trucks about with ease, and this gave Logan a much more comfortable sleep schedule. One morning, Logan was getting his fire built up for an early coal delivery when Philip eagerly sped alongside.

"I can shunt your trucks for you, Logan!" He shouted happily, startling Logan awake.

"Oh, um, alright, little guy. Just be careful not to forget Hector!" He called. Philip happily sped off to gather the trucks.

When Philip arrived in the sidings, the trucks were just as tired as Logan had been. Philip bumped them hard in order to make them snap awake.

"Hey!"

"It's barely morning!"

"We're trying to sleep!" Philip honked his horn as he bumped them into a line.

"Come on, guys! You have a delivery to make!" The trucks grumbled furiously as Philip shunted them into a line.

"We'll show him, we'll show him..." Philip finally fetched Hector and stuck him on the front of the line of trucks. As he began pulling the empty trucks over to the hopper to be filled, he began putting the brakes on too late.

"Whoa!" Philip cried, and the trucks surged against him. Finally, he slid to a halt and the trucks bumped into each other. Hector winced as Philip heaved breaths.

"That was close, huh, Hector?" Philip coughed. Hector frowned at the little boxcab.

"You're taking far too many trucks, _chico_. You're too light to keep this many in contr-"

"Are you saying I'm not strong enough?" Philip asked indignantly.

"Well, I-"

"I'm _very_ strong! I can shunt all the coal trucks I need to!" He honked his horn and sped away. Hector sighed. However, the trucks behind him, annoyed from having been woken up, began to snicker.

"Yes, he's _very_ strong indeed..." They whispered. They had begun to make a sinister plan.

* * *

Logan was soon enough ready to back down onto the trucks, and had a nice fire burning.

"Have a nice run, Logan!" Philip called cheerfully.

"Thanks, Philip. Keep the yard in order for me, eh?" Logan grinned as he passed a water tower where some workmen were trying to repair the leaking hose. However, he whistled as he backed onto the train, causing the workman holding the hose to drop it in surprise. Water gushed from the hose and into Logan's cab, putting out his fire and soaking the firebox. Logan groaned.

"Oh no!" He cried. Philip gasped.

"Logan! Are you okay?" Logan coughed.

"I'm fine. Just cold." He shivered. His driver poked his head out of the cab.

"Your fire's out, old boy. We can't pull the train now!" Logan sighed.

"That's just great, now innit?"

"I can take the coal!" Logan's eyes snapped to Philip.

"You can?"

"Of course! I may be small, but I'm very strong!" Logan's face scrunched up in thought.

"Hmm..."

"Absolutely not!" Hector boomed from behind Logan.

"What?"

"Logan, Philip's not heavy enough to control the train! He'll have an accident in all this snow and ice!"

"There isn't really another option, Hector!" Hector sighed.

"Very well, Philip. But you must be careful!" Philip grinned.

"I won't let you down!" He raced forward to go around the train.

* * *

Philip was soon enough coupled to the heavy train, with Hector right behind him, he was grinning from buffer to buffer.

"Don't get too excited, Philip! You need to always be on your guard." Hector reminded him, but he didn't listen. The guard's whistle blew and Philip started off. He honked his horn excitedly as he left the Coaling Plant.

"I'm pulling a train! I'm pulling a train!" He called happily. Hector simply frowned in worry, while the other coal trucks giggled.

* * *

For the first leg of the journey, all was well. Philip loved coasting through the snow-covered countryside.

"Whee! Haha!" Hector looked down at him from behind in annoyance.

"Philip, you need to pay attention! It's easy to lose control on the ice!"

"I know, Hector! I'm paying perfect attent-Oh, hello, Bertie!" He called to the bus who was zooming along the road.

"Hi, Philip!" Hector rolled his eyes as the train continued rolling on towards Wellsworth. Philip honked as he braked into the platform.

"H-hi! Who are y-you?" Molly greeted shyly from the yard, where she was shunting some flatbeds. Philip smiled.

"Hi, yellow engine! I'm Philip, like PHIL-ip! I've brought the coal today!"

"W-w-w-well, that's..."

"I've got lots of deliveries to make! I'm very busy!" He grinned. Molly giggled.

"F-f-funny little t-t-thing, aren't y-y-you?" She smiled. Philip blushed.

"Um, yes, I suppose I am. Heh."

"D-do you want help up Gordon's Hill?" Philip looked ahead out of the station, where the hill stood tall.

"Gordon has a hill? Wow! He must be very important!" Suddenly, Philip heard a whistle and Edward rolled into the station with his passengers, chuckling.

"Not quite, Philip. The hill's named after Gordon because he stuck on it once and I had to help him." Philip laughed, and even Hector chuckled.

"Silly Gordon! I wouldn't stick on a silly hill! I'm too strong!" He grinned. Molly frowned in worry.

"Um, Philip...I think you m-might want help. The hill is v-very s-s-steep..."

"The snow and ice are thick too, Philip. You really should get help." Edward added. Hector cleared his throat, but Philip rolled his eyes.

"I can handle it, Edward. Come on, Hector!" Philip honked his horn snd continued onwards towards the hill, dragging his trucks behind him. Edward and Molly shared worried glances.

* * *

Philip soon enough reached the hill, and began climbing it furiously.

"Come on! Come on!" He shouted, his wheels gripping the rails furiously. The trucks began giggling.

"Don't you lot _dare_ hold back!" Hector boomed harshly. The trucks smirked.

"Oh, we won't..." They snickered. Philip struggled hard, but he finally managed to get the trucks over the top of the hill.

"I've done it! I've done it!" He panted as he headed over the apex of the hill.

"Keep steady, Philip!" Hector called, but Philip let his guard down as he began to slide down the hill.

"Ah...one second, Hector!" The trucks giggled as Philip began to gain speed.

"Come on, lightweight!" One truck snickered.

"You need to put on a few pounds!"

"Build some _muscle_!"

"Why don't we go for a run? To get you in shape! On, lads!" The trucks rammed into Hector, who rammed in Philip.

"Philip, stop!" Hector cried.

"Whoa! I can't!" Philip shouted back, and tried to slam his brakes on as he slid down the hill. The trucks cackled as Philip slipped on the snow and ice.

"On! On! On!" They called. Philip screamed in terror as he began to pick up speed.

"Help! Help!" He tried to brake, but the weight of the trucks and the snow and ice made him slide onwards. Hector tried to resist too, but even he couldn't stop the trucks.

"Whee!" The trucks laughed. They soared past a signalbox, where a signalman saw them pass by and immediately phoned down the line.

"Stop that train!"

* * *

Paxton was pulling some stone from the Blue Mountain Quarry to the docks, and was approaching a signal nearby a junction.

"Hum-hum-hum..." However, the signal unexpectedly changed to red just as Paxton approached it and he braked to a halt.

"Whoa!" He slammed the brakes on just before the points and managed to come to a halt just out of range of the junction.

"Wonder what the holdup is?" He muttered. Suddenly, he heard the screeching of brakes and familiar screaming. He raised an eyebrow.

"Is that-" He was cut off by Philip and his runaway coal train racing across the junction in front of him, leaving a cloud of coal dust behind, caking Paxton in the dirty stuff. He coughed once the cloud was clear.

"Oh."

* * *

Philip rocketed along the main line, blitzing past stations and crossings.

"My brakes won't work!" He cried to Hector, tears of terror appearing around his eyes. Hector grimaced.

"Easy, _chico_ , we'll figure this out!"

"When you crash!" One of the trucks giggled. Hector bumped him hard, but it wasn't enough to stop Philip. As the runaway train whipped around a bend, a crossing came into view. Philip's eyes widened when he saw who was on it.

"Trevor! Move!" He cried. Trevor the Traction Engine was rolling across the crossing when he heard Philip's terrified horn and his eyes widened as he desperately tried to pick up speed.

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" He frantically forced himself forward, but Philip was approaching fast.

"Out of the way!" Philip cried.

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!"

"AAH!" Trevor just managed to clear the crossing as Philip tore past. As the sound of wheels rumbling on the rails began to subside, Trevor let out a sigh of relief.

"This always happens to me!" He mumbled, and continued chuffering on.

* * *

Thomas was waiting at Kellsthorpe Road with the local when he heard a whistle and Gordon rolled in with the express. He grinned proudly.

"Right on time!" Gordon smirked. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"That was fast. Are you going for your record today, Gordon?" The big blue engine laughed.

"I might as well. This is the best run I've had since summer! No ice at all! I'll go faster than ever!" The guard's whistle blew and Gordon began leaving the station.

"Goodbye, little Thomas! Express coming through!" Thomas chuckled as Gordon disappeared. However, he heard a terrified scream from down the line.

"What's that?" He asked Annie and Clarabel. However, before he could get a response, Philip tore into Kellsthorpe Road, racing right through without stopping.

"Philip, why are you going so fast?" He cried.

"I can't stop!"

"Philip, you have to! You could hit Gordon and his passengers!" Both Philip and Hector gasped as they zoomed out of earshot.

"¡ _Ay dios mio!_ The express! Philip, we have to stop!" Philip grimaced in terror, tears streaming down his eyes. He knew that if he didn't think of something, a lot of people could get hurt. Suddenly, his eyes lit up,

"Hector, we can't stop!"

"I know!"

"Which means we'll have to beat him to the junction! I have to go faster!" Philip eased off his brakes and began increasing speed once more. Hector screamed as the trucks cackled.

"Come on...come on!" Philip revved his engine and tore at the rails. Gordon's coaches began coming into view on the other line. The express engine pounded on as quickly as he could, and was surprised to hear Philip's horn as the boxcab began drawing level.

"Big engine, slow down! I can't stop!" Gordon gasped and slammed on the brakes and heaved sand onto the rails. Finally, they approached where their lines merged and Philip roared into life. The Troublesome Trucks cackled, and Hector tried to give Philip as much of a push as possible.

"Come on, Philip! Full power!" Gordon was slowing down but still hadn't stopped as they approached the junction ahead. Finally, with one final blast of his horn, Philip soared through the line in front of Gordon, just missing the express engine. Philip laughed in joy.

"I did it! Haha! I did-WHOA!" Philip felt a crunch and felt his wheels being dragged through the ballast. His driver leapt clear as Philip's train completely left the rails and he tumbled down the hill into the valley, dragging Hector and the coal trucks with him. Gordon could only watch in horror from the junction as he heard the little boxcab hit the snowy hill over and over before finally coming to a halt by colliding with a large stone, shattering his two front windows and adding even more dents to his damaged frames. Hector was nearby, also considerably damaged.

"Ouch." He groaned. Gordon rolled forwards, looking down at the crash in horror.

"I'll get help at the next station! Sit tight!" He called, and raced onwards, leaving the crash in the valley below. Philip felt absolutely ashamed for the crash.

* * *

Soon enough, Thomas and Logan brought Rocky to help clear up the mess. The coal trucks were taken away by Thomas after all the coal had been recovered, while Rocky put Hector and Philip on flatbeds.

"Don't worry, Philip, I've got you!" Rocky called as he lowered Philip onto the flatbed coupled to Logan, Hector already having been placed on his. Philip was covered in dents and scratches, and groaned woozily as he was chained to the flatbed. Logan winced at Philip's pain.

"That crash really did a number on you, huh, Philip?" He mused. Philip groaned, and tears began rolling down his cheeks, wiping away the coal dust. Logan frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Philip sniffled.

"I just wanted to be useful, and I messed it all up...I know why I'm shut in the yard all the time...it's because I mess everything up when I leave." Hector chuckled.

"There, there, Philip. You did what you had to."

"It's the trucks' fault, not yours. Besides, you are absolutely marvelous working at the coaling plant!" Philip smiled sadly.

"Thanks, guys. I don't think the Fat Controller will be very happy with me though..." Logan and Hector didn't know how to respond, so Logan simply whistled and took his two flatbeds towards the Dieselworks.

* * *

However, when the train arrived at the Dieselworks, Philip spotted a sight that made him even more worried.

"Oh no! It's Gordon!" A familiar figure stepped down from Gordon's cab, and Philip grimaced.

"And the Fat Controller..." Logan whistled as he rolled alongside the two. To Philip's surprise, they were smiling. The Fat Controller looked up at the little boxcab.

"Hello, Philip. How are you feeling?" Philip looked away weakly.

"Broken." He sighed. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"That would make sense. You did take quite a tumble!" Philip tried to smile, but couldn't.

"I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have left the coaling plant, and I should have gotten help on the hill, and-"

"Philip, you're a hero!" Gordon cut him off. Philip's eyes widened.

"What?"

"He's right, Philip. I was on the express and saw everything. You saved hundreds of lives at your own expense!" The Fat Controller added.

"If we had tried to slow down, we would have definitely hit Gordon!" Hector finished. Philip was shocked.

"B-but, I left the Coaling Plant, sir, and you told me not to, and I-"

"You had to, Philip! You were just trying to keep to time!" Logan grinned. The Fat Controller walked closer to Philip.

"Philip, as a reward for your heroism, and your brilliant work at the Coaling Plant, I'll be giving you stronger brakes so you can work better when there's ice on the rails." Philip's eyes widened.

"Thank you, sir!"

"And, when you're repaired, I'm going to be expanding your duties so you can take small trains to farther away places on the island." Philip gasped in joy.

"I won't let you down, sir! I promise!" He grinned. Logan smiled.

"Three cheers for Philip! Hip hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray!" As the engines cheered for Philip, he smiled to himself.

"It was a nice change, but I'll be happy to stay in the yard when there's snow on the ground..." He chuckled.

 **THE END**

* * *

It's been a while, hasn't it? Giving Philip his own episode was really nice, and there were a lot of fun callbacks to put in this one, such as to _Edward and Gordon, The Great Race,_ and _The Replacement_ with Trevor's scene. One thing you may have noticed is that, with Philip managing to overtake Gordon and avoid hitting the express, he actually _has_ beat Gordon in a race now. Giving Logan and Hector roles was a great decision, and Logan and Philip has a great sibling-esque dynamic. The _Little Engines_ sequence was fun too. Just a whole lot of fun. This one took a long time, but I think it turned out alright. We'll be seeing Philip in more places due to his stronger brakes, but that won't be for a little while. Rather, next episode, we'll get to meet a brand new character who I'm sure you all will like; Penelope, the Railway Recorder!

And, as always, what's next:

\- _Penelope the Railway Recorder_

 _\- Ladies' Night_

 _\- In the Presence of Proteus_

 _\- James & The Polar Bear_

 _\- Flat Tyre -_ After Bertie loses a race with Thomas due getting a flat tire, Thomas begins teasing him and starts to be reckless with his passengers.


	45. Penelope the Railway Recorder

**PENELOPE THE RAILWAY RECORDER**

One spring morning, James the Red Engine was happily speeding along the line with a passenger train.

"I'm right on time! I'm right on time!" He chanted to himself. However, up ahead, he saw a man waving a red flag and groaned.

"Oh, what is it now?" He braked to a halt nearby the points, where he saw the back of one of the breakdown cranes.

"Oh, bother. Maintenance." The workman spoke to James' driver.

"We're just going to switch the points to direct you around our work here. Sorry for the delay!" The points were switched and James continued rolling on, grumbling.

"Now I'll be late! Now I'll be late!" He growled, roaring past Norman, Judy, and Jerome, who were hard at work repairing the main line.

"Oh, hello, James!" Jerome called, before Judy shushed him.

"Shush, Jerome! Norman's almost finished!"

" _As you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free._ " Norman finished theatrically. As soon as he finished, Judy and Jerome cheered enthusiastically.

"Brilliant, Norm! That was an utterly brilliant one!" Judy smiled as she lifted some sleepers over to where some men were working. Norman smirked proudly.

"I'm glad you two enjoy it. Sadly, not everyone on this island has as much of an appreciation of the works of the 'Bard of Avon' as myself. Now, what would you two like to hear next? I've practically a library in my cab!" Judy and Jerome shared a glance before each spoke.

" _The Grapes of Wrath?_ "

" _Pride and Prejudice?_ "

"We read _Pride and Prejudice_ last run, Judy."

"Well, we read _The Grapes of Wrath_ the run before, Jerome!"

"We could read _The Scarlet Pimpernel_ again." Norman suggested.

"We've already read that today." Judy sighed.

"How far are we from Crovan's Gate, Norm?" Jerome asked. Norman thought for a moment, and saw some particular tall and dense woods just out of view.

"Killdane is approximately half a kilometer away, which means, at our current speed and efficiency, we should be at the works station in t-minus three hours." The two cranes groaned.

"We've been out here for six hours already!" Judy snapped.

"It's always start, stop, see if something's wrong, start, stop, see if something's wrong..." Jerome began.

"Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat! And oftentimes we don't get all the bumps, and the big engines say we aren't doing our jobs properly." Judy finished indignantly. Norman sighed.

"I do concur that we need a more efficient away of going about maintenance, but I can't manage to conceive any sort of alternative solution at present. We just have to, as they say, 'grin and bear it'!" The three all agreed there was a problem: maintenance is slow.

* * *

James had an extraordinary amount of difficulty in making up for lost time, and by the time he had reached Vicarstown and had picked up the trucks he meant to pull, he was already running late.

"Oh, come on!" He groaned as he pulled into Crovan's Gate and saw that he had missed his path. Duncan was waiting at the platform below and noticed James' sour expression. He smirked.

"What seems to be the problem, red? Ye look like ye've been swimmin' in boiler sludge from the look on yer face!" He laughed, leaving James to scowl at him.

"I got held up by maintenance this morning." Duncan raised an eyebrow.

"Rusty holds us up for maintenance and ye don't hear me complaining!" He snorted. Suddenly, a horn sounded out and Rusty himself rolled alongside.

"Well, Duncan, the big railway is quite a bit bigger than ours!" James snorted.

"We need someone like you on our railway, Rusty. Our maintenance crew work like snails." Suddenly, a horn rang out and Norman bustled into the station with Jerome and Judy behind him.

"About time!" James glared at the breakdown gang. Norman winced.

"Apologies, James. We've been scouring the line to attempt to iron out any bumps, and for the most part we've been successful. However, if I may, I do advise you still travel slowly and be careful, as we may have missed a spot or two, and-"

"Norman, I don't have time for this! I'm already running late!" James sped away, leaving a concerned Norman behind. Rusty and Duncan shared worried glances before rolling away.

* * *

James sped along the main line with his trucks rattling along behind him. His wheels pounded the rails as he whooshed along.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" He called. Suddenly, he felt a bump in the rails beneath him and felt his pony truck jump the tracks and begin scraping through the ballast.

"Oh no! Stop! Stop!" He cried, but it was too late. James jumped the rails completely and slid through the dirt, dragging his train with him. He smashed through the fence of a cow pasture before finally coming to a stop, covered in dirt and feeling considerably battered.

"Ouch." Luckily, no one was hurt, and his crew ran back to the station for help.

* * *

Soon enough, Norman brought Judy and Jerome to help rescue James. The diesel looked apologetically at the dirty red engine as he was lowered onto the rails.

"Sorry, James, I guess there was a bit of an...oversight." He smiled sheepishly. James simply scowled. Suddenly, a horn sounded out.

"Uh oh." Judy gritted her teeth.

"It's the Fat Controller!" Jerome winced. Sure enough, Winston pulled up alongside the rescue operation, and the Fat Controller stepped out. He did not look pleased.

"James, how did this happen?" He asked sternly. The red engine scowled.

"I was trying to make up for lost time and hit a bump in the line, sir." Norman grinned sheepishly.

"We tried to rid the line of any bumps on our earlier trip, sir, but it's hard to catch every one of the little devils!" The Fat Controller rubbed his temples.

"It appears that we need some sort of more efficient and reliable way of carrying out maintenance. For now, I want you to clear up this mess, Norman, Judy, and Jerome. Take James to the works and return to your normal duties. I will try to amend this problem within the next few days." He climbed back aboard Winston and drove away.

"Yes, sir." Norman ran around the train and coupled up to James before starting back towards Crovan's Gate.

* * *

For the next few days, whenever the engines visited Knapford Station, they would see a peculiar sight within the confines of the Fat Controller's office.

"He's constantly on the phone, filling out forms, and having his assistant put them in the mailbox by the front of the station! I don't get what he could possibly be doing to solve the maintenance problem..." Percy confided to Thomas worriedly.

"I don't know what he's doing, Percy, but I'm sure he'll fix the problem soon enough!"

"And about time too!" Annie grumbled.

"There are spots on the branch line that they miss every time they come!" Clarabel added. Thomas frowned.

"I certainly hope that whatever the Fat Controller does, it doesn't make our lives _more_ difficult..." The guard's whistle blew and Thomas rolled away, leaving Percy to look at the Fat Controller's window, quite worried.

* * *

One morning, Henry was preparing to take his stopping train that passed the Sodor Airport. He didn't even notice the Fat Controller walk aboard one of his coaches before the guard's whistle blew.

"Come on! Come on!" He called. As he rolled along the main line, he suddenly felt another bump under his wheels.

"Whoa!" He groaned. The Fat Controller, who was drinking tea out of a thermos in one of the coaches, felt the bump, and spilled tea on his lap. He sighed.

"Hopefully I'll be able to solve these problems with my new purchase..."

* * *

Norman pulled into Knapford later that day on one of his fuel runs, and was surprised to see Winston on a siding, resting.

"Winston? What are you doing lounging about? Shouldn't you be out on an inspection excursion with the Fat Controller?" Winston opened a sleepy eye.

"The Fat Controller's away on business." He yawned. Norman raised one side of his eyebrow.

" _Away on business?_ To where?" Winston thought for a moment.

"He took Henry's train to the airport this morning. I think he said he was going to, urm, Switzerland." Norman's eyes widened.

"Switzerland?" But he didn't have any time to think about Switzerland. The guard's whistle blew and Norman rolled away, worried.

* * *

A few nights later, Norman was about to settle down to sleep when the Dieselworks Manager walked over to him.

"Sorry to keep you up, Norman, but there's an important load from Brendam Docks you need to take to the Steamworks right away." Norman was confused, but he rolled off nonetheless.

When Norman arrived at Brendam Docks, he saw Porter and Cranky. Cranky was carrying a decently sized crate off a ship, and Porter had a flatbed below ready to carry it.

"How heavy is it up there, Cranky?" Porter called. Cranky raised an eyebrow at the package he was carrying.

"It's definitely not pillows or feathers in there, I'll tell you that much. The box says it's from Switzerland." Norman's eyes widened.

"This must be what the Fat Controller acquired whilst there!" He watched Cranky lower the crate onto the flatbed. As Norman backed down onto his mysterious cargo, Porter rolled alongside.

"Any idea what this is, Norm?" He asked curiously. Norman chuckled.

"I assume that, whatever it is, it's to solve the maintenance problem. We'll see what quarry I'm carrying when I arrive at my destination, eh?" He honked his horn and rolled out into the night, with the Swiss solution on the flatbed behind him.

* * *

Norman soon enough arrived at the Steamworks where Victor and Kevin were waiting for him, along with the Fat Controller.

"A pleasure to see you, my friend!" Victor called to Norman.

"Salutations, all! I've brought this, erm...something." He replied. The Fat Controller smiled as the crate was moved from Norman's flatbed to the turntable in the middle of the works.

"This investment should solve any maintenance problems we have at present. Hopefully she'll stop the big engines complaining, too!" Norman chuckled, as Kevin went to inspect the crate with fascination.

"What exactly have you purchased, sir?" Norman asked. Kevin began tentatively tapping the crate with his arm.

"Well, that's easy, Norman. It's-" Suddenly, Kevin hit the crate too hard, and it began falling apart.

"Oh no!" Kevin quickly reversed to hide behind Victor as the walls of the crate fell down to reveal what was inside. Everyone was amazed.

"Huh?" James asked from the lift, where he was being repaired.

"Wow." Kevin stammered.

"What a machine!" Victor agreed. Norman was most astounded of all.

"My word..." In front of everyone was something that looked a bit like a car, if she wasn't on the rails. She was painted a deep purple on her bottom half, and cream on the top half of her cab. In white text near the back of her cab was her number, "53", and her name, "Penelope" towards the front. She wore thick horn-rimmed glasses that stretched from buffer to buffer across her face, and was rather short, and squat. However, Penelope's most striking feature were two long, peculiar metal structures emerging from either side of her, which seemed to straddle the rails as much as she did. She looked rather on edge from everyone staring at her, but smiled nervously.

"Oh, um, hello." She said quietly. The Fat Controller quickly stepped up alongside her.

"Norman, this is Penelope, the Railway Recorder. She is here to do your measurements preemptively for maintenance so you can completely your maintenance quicker, and with more reliability!" Norman's eyes widened.

"Sir, how does she-"

"All will be explained tomorrow on her trial run, Norman. In the meantime, Victor and Kevin, make sure she's completely in order for tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir!" As Victor and Kevin sped away to get tools, Norman rolled over to Penelope, absolutely fascinated. He read her name on her side and raised his brow.

"How does a Swiss trolley acquire the moniker 'Penelope'?" He asked. Penelope looked at Norman indignantly through her glasses, almost insulted.

"I vas named after the vife 'Penelope' from _The Odyssey._ My designer vas an avid reader, and I guess I just picked up on the habit." Norman's eyes widened in amazement; a fellow reader!

"I too enjoy a good anthology or two! Have you read-" Suddenly, Victor's whistle sounded out and the little engine rolled alongside.

"Norman, you'd better get home before you miss your path. Penelope needs her rest for tomorrow!" Norman smiled sheepishly.

"Right. Um, apologies, Victor. Looking forward to working with you, Penelope!" He honked his horn and rolled away, leaving Penelope behind to get some rest. As soon as Norman was out of sight, Penelope worriedly looked out into the vast yard.

"There's a lot of engines on this railway...too many for me." She then went to sleep worrying about the day ahead.

* * *

The following day, Penelope rolled down the line towards Knapford, careful to be as quiet as possible. However, as she rolled along, she saw an engine roll by.

"Good morning!" Emily called to Penelope as she rolled past with some trucks of flour. Penelope looked away and sped up, trying to avoid Emily's gaze. Emily raised an eyebrow as Penelope darted by.

"That's funny..." She muttered. Penelope simply continued rolling along towards Knapford, trying to avoid the gaze of any engine in her way.

* * *

Penelope arrived at Knapford, where the Fat Controller and the railway board were waiting on the platform.

"Gentlemen, this is my new railway recorder, Penelope. I trust you all will find what she does very, _very_ interesting. Climb aboard, everyone!" The Fat Controller and the Railway Board climbed into Penelope's cab. She grimaced nervously as the men sat down. However, before she could start off, she heard a horn and Norman rolled into the other side of the station, pulling Judy and Jerome behind him. Her eyes widened.

"Vhat are you doing here?" She hissed across the station.

"We've come to wish you good luck!" Jerome called back.

"We're going to be working with you, so we might as well support you!" Judy added. Norman grinned to support their remarks. Penelope tried to regain her composure but was clearly flustered, so she simply looked away, staring at the line ahead. The guard blew his whistle and Penelope started off towards her destination, trying to avoid the gaze of engines passing by.

"Break a leg!" Norman called.

* * *

As Penelope rolled along the main line, the Fat Controller spoke to the railway board in her cab.

"What Penelope here does is detect and record all track forms. Any irregularity can be pinpointed to within 3 or 4 sleepers. With this new technology, the maintenance crew can go straight to where the trouble directly is instead of spending all this time measuring and searching."

"How, Topham?"

"Well, that's easy!" The Fat Controller gestured to a series of ball point pens on a sheet of paper that was on Penelope's dashboard.

"These ball-point pens keep a continuous record of track measurements gathered through the cables and mechanical linkages of the recording trolley that goes around her." The men were all impressed.

"Can she travel in both directions?"

"Certainly. Her trolleys are on either side, so she can keep accurate measurements in both directions, and if a landmark is beside the line like a signal or a station, just push _this_ button to mark it." He pushed a red button as Penelope soared past a signalbox. Sure enough, one of Penelope's pens dotted the sheet of paper. The men were all incredibly impressed.

"Very useful."

"An excellent purchase." Penelope couldn't hear what the board was saying. She was just hoping she could finish her journey without encountering any more engines.

* * *

Penelope rolled into Maron, where she came to a stop. The Fat Controller got out of her cab, and the railway board followed. The Fat Controller presented a long sheet of paper to the railway board.

" _This,_ gentlemen, is our map. We now have all irregularities on the line pinpointed with incredible accuracy." The board was very impressed.

"This is a fine machine you have here, Topham. We look forward to seeing it more in action." Suddenly, a whistle sounded out and Henry rolled into Maron and spotted Penelope.

"Oh, hello! You must be the new recording trolley!" He smiled kindly, but Penelope looked away. Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Penelope looked toward him nervously.

"Sorry, I'm not good around other engines." She said quietly. Henry tried to find something to say, but noticed the Fat Controller carrying a long roll of paper.

"Sir, what is that you're carrying?" The Fat Controller looked to Henry and showed him the paper.

"This, Henry, is a map of the line from Knapford to here, with every bump and irregularity recorded by Penelope over there!" He gestured to Penelope, who blushed. Henry was amazed.

"That's amazing, Penelope! We've needed someone like you for a long time!" The guard's whistle blew and Henry steamed off.

"It was wonderful to meet you! Welcome to Sodor!" As Henry disappeared, Penelope gave a small smile to herself.

"Vhat a nice engine..." She chuckled. Her driver came back.

"Come on, Penelope. We have to get back to the works soon!" Penelope honked her horn and left Maron, starting off for home.

* * *

As Penelope rolled along the line, her pens kept tapping away in her cab. Suddenly, as she approached Killdane Junction to continue on towards Crovan's Gate, she felt a large bump as she crossed the points nearby the station.

"Vhoa! Driver, something's wrong!" Her driver looked at the paper, and sure enough, there was a large irregularity on the junction.

"Huh. I'll take a look." Penelope braked to a halt, and her driver went to inspect the points. Sure enough, the points were jammed in their direction. A rock had lodged itself in the mechanism.

"You're right, Penelope. The points are stuck." He tried to pull the rock out of the mechanism, but it wouldn't budge. However, a whistle rang out from the scenic branch line and Penelope's eyes widened.

"Oh no! Another engine! They could be in danger if we don't stop them!" Her driver grabbed the red flag and frantically waved it. However, Lucian, who was coming in with some passengers, was traveling bunker-first and couldn't see the points. Penelope gasped.

"STOP!" She cried, and her driver sprinted into the cab and blew her horn as loudly as possible. Lucian gasped and slammed on his brakes, stopping just short of the points. When he had stopped, he looked back at Penelope.

"Who are you? Why did you make me stop?" He asked indignantly. Penelope felt very small.

"The points were jammed against you." She said quietly. Lucian's driver looked back.

"She's right, old boy. There's something in the points!" Lucian's eyes widened.

"I could have crashed if it wasn't for you! You saved me and my passengers!" Penelope gave another small smile, looking away. Lucian grinned.

"What's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Penelope. I'm new." She replied simply. Lucian chuckled.

"Well, Penelope, I'm glad you were here to help! Hope you enjoy your new job!" Penelope smiled.

"Thanks." After Lucian's crew and Penelope's driver managed to remove the rock from the points, Penelope continued on towards the works.

"Nice to meet you, Penelope!" Lucian called. Penelope blushed.

"Nice to meet you, too." She said quietly and kept moving.

* * *

Lucian and Henry quickly spread the word about Penelope, as soon enough, everyone was saying hello to her as she passed.

"Hi, Penelope!" Percy called as Penelope rolled past a junction. She smiled shyly at him.

"Oh, hello." She rolled by after giving a quick blast of her horn. All along her journey, everyone seemed to be friendly to her.

"Hello, Penelope! Great to meet you!" Thomas called as Penelope rolled past a station. She grinned.

"Great to meet you, too!" She called, filled with newfound confidence.

* * *

That evening, Penelope was looking over her driver's shoulder reading _Jane Eyre_ at the Steamworks when Winston arrived with the Fat Controller onboard. She looked up from behind her glasses.

"Oh, hello, sir!" She greeted cheerfully. The Fat Controller walked towards her.

"Penelope, your trial run went excellently; the board are very impressed with you!"

"Thank you, sir." She replied. The Fat Controller grinned.

"And don't think I didn't hear about your heroics with Lucian either! You're definitely what we need to not only speed up maintenance, but make the railway more safe!" Penelope smiled broadly.

"That's my job, sir!" She replied with bravado. The Fat Controller smiled.

"Tomorrow, I want you to go on a trip around the island, recording all the different track irregularities." Penelope grinned.

"I von't let you down, sir!" The Fat Controller walked away to Winston.

"I don't expect you to." He climbed inside and drove away. As Penelope resumed her reading, she thought happily to herself.

"They all love me! All I need to do is do my job, and I'll do a better job than ever tomorrow! I von't let one bump go unnoticed!" Unfortunately for Penelope, as you may expect, this is where things began to go very wrong.

* * *

The following day, Penelope began her journey around the island. She first made her way down to Norramby Boardwalk.

"The scenery is lovely!" She said to herself. However, when she arrived, she braked to a halt and gasped.

" _Vhat_ is that?"

"Could ask the same of you, toots." Penelope had stumbled across Jeb and Bonnie, the Rail Bandits-turned-gift shop who now inhabited Norramby station as a condition of their parole. Bonnie looked at Penelope with curiosity.

"Y'all are a funny lookin' little thing, aren't ya?" She eyed the little trolley with fascination. Penelope glared.

"Vhat are you two doing idling about in the platform? A train could come in and hit you!" Jeb scoffed from his spot facing the beach.

"All trains go to the other platform, four-eyes. We live here." He called. Penelope scowled at him.

"It is my job to keep the island safe! I vill _not_ be spoken to that vay! Now, move!" She banged into Bonnie and tried to push the duo, but Jeb's parking boots made it very difficult.

"Easy, Sally Spectacles, you're gonna blow your engine out!" Jeb smirked. Penelope rolled away, her face bright red and panting.

"Fine. If you von't move by _my orders_ , I vill have someone else do it!" She heard a whistle and saw Arthur rolling into the other platform with a passenger train.

"Hello! Move these safety hazards of the vay, please! I am not strong enough to do it on my own!" Arthur looked baffled, but Penelope had already sped off. Bonnie chuckled.

"I like her." Jeb glared back.

"What a loon."

* * *

Penelope's reign of terror didn't end there. She arrived at the Blue Mountain Quarry, where Paxton was picking up some trucks from Owen.

"Going down!" Owen called. Paxton saw Penelope dart into the quarry and smiled.

"Hello! Are you looking for something?" He asked politely. Penelope smiled haughtily.

"Just on a routine safety inspection; I'm the new recording trolley!" She smirked, and began rolling towards Paxton. However, she suddenly felt something beneath her wheels that made her pens rattle violently. She braked to a halt in shock.

"There are rocks all over the line! This is not safe at all!" Paxton and Owen shared a glance.

"Well, um, yes, there _are_ rocks on the line."

"This is a quarry." Owen explained dully. Penelope glared.

"I very vell know that! Clean it up so the line can be traveled safely!" She darted away, leaving Paxton and Owen to share confused looks.

* * *

Penelope darted around the rest of the island, inspecting the line. If she ever felt a bump, or saw a hazard, she'd immediately inform everyone about it.

"There is a jagged rail! Stop all trains!" She called as she rolled into Arlesburgh West. Oliver was in the platform and was astonished.

"But-" Penelope had already darted away, leaving Oliver to groan. All over the island, trains were being halted over bumps in the line, and this was causing confusion and delay. Everyone knew who to blame.

"Penelope!" Oliver complained to Duck at Arlesburgh Harbour.

"Penelope!" Thomas complained to Percy at Elsbridge.

"Penelope!" Paxton complained to Diesel at the Shunting Yards. However, upon hearing the name, Diesel smirked widely.

"Penelope? Well, if she's _such_ a bother, why don't _I_ get her out of everyone's hair?" Paxton was surprised, but before he could respond, Diesel had already slunk out of the shunting yards.

"Diesel? Where are you going?"

* * *

Penelope's journey ended with her pulling into Knapford. She smiled proudly at her handiwork.

"The island vill now be a much safer place, thanks to me! The line vill be smooth, and everything vill run to time!" At that moment, Penelope heard a whistle and Henry bustled across the junction.

"I'm running late, I'm running late!" He panted, before finally braking to a halt in the platform. Penelope saw her friend and hooted her horn.

"Hello, Henry!" Henry gasped and saw Penelope across the station. He scowled.

"She's _made_ me late! She's _made_ me late!" He muttered, not looking at Penelope and simply rolling away for a rest. His passengers flooded the station, also grumbling about the lateness, but Penelope didn't notice. She was feeling too hurt.

"Vhy is Henry ignoring me?" Suddenly, she heard a horn and a black engine she had never met rolled alongside.

"That's because Henry's jealous that the Fat Controller has chosen _you_ for a _very_ special job. A job that everyone else wanted." Penelope raised an eyebrow.

"I vas never told about such a job! And who are you anyway?"

"I'm Diesel."

"I can see that! Vhat's your name?"

"That _is_ my name. Diesel."

"Oh. It's not very creative." Diesel growled, but quickly regained his composure.

" _You_ need to go down the old woodland track near Gordon's Hill to pick up an important package. A package only a dignified recorder such as yourself could carry." Penelope smiled.

"Really? Vhat's in it?" Diesel grinned; he had her right where he wanted her.

"It's a surprise, my dear. You've got to go and see!" Penelope was excited; an important delivery just for her!

"Certainly! And just for good measure, I'll inspect the line for bumps, too! Thank you, Diesel!" Penelope hooted her horn and sped away.

"You're welcome!" Diesel replied, before smirking and chuckling sinisterly.

* * *

Penelope soon enough arrived at the track near Gordon's Hill. It looked rather old and dilapidated, and the line seemed covered in the shadow of the trees.

"Penelope, are you sure we're supposed to be here? This line looks like it hasn't been used in years!" Her driver said as he prepared to change the points. Penelope scoffed.

"Of course! Vhat other voodland tracks are there around here?" Her driver shrugged and switched the points, and, after he climbed back aboard, Penelope set off into the woods. The line was old and seemed to be getting farther apart.

"This line needs a thorough inspection." Penelope muttered. However, she suddenly heard a scraping sound and felt a sharp pain.

"Ouch!" One of her recording trolleys are come off the rails, and was dragging its way through the sleepers, before finally catching on one and pushing Penelope off the rails into a muddy puddle with it to collide with a rock.

"Oh no!" She cried, as mud splashed her paint, the impact of the rock also cracking one of her lenses. She coughed furiously as her driver stepped down.

"Well, that's torn it. We can't back up from this. We'll have to get help!" Penelope sighed, and waited.

* * *

Norman was passing the Arlesburgh Goods Yard when he suddenly heard an alarm, and saw Ryan backing down onto Judy and Jerome.

"My word, what's the emergency, Ryan?" He asked.

"Penelope's had an accident! We're going to help right away!" Ryan replied. Judy sighed.

"Poor dear. On her first day, too!"

"Tragic." Jerome lamented. Norman's eyes widened.

"Oh my. Ryan, I must request that I take Judy and Jerome in your place. Maintenance engines _must_ support each other!" Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Alright then, Norman." He rolled away, and Norman was coupled to the cranes.

"This is so exciting, Jerome!"

"Oh, I know, Judy! The suspense is making my gears begin to turn before I'm even in steam!" Norman honked his horn, and began his journey towards the accident. As Norman left, Daisy watched from the shed with interest, before gradually losing it and falling asleep.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to find Penelope, and Judy and Jerome were lifting her into the air to be put back onto the rails.

"Easy does it!" Jerome called.

"Don't worry, Penelope, you'll be alright!" Judy added. Penelope was looking rather ashamed of herself as she finally felt herself on rails once more. Norman cleared his throat.

"Penelope, how did even find yourself in these precarious circumstances? This line hasn't been in operation for close to a decade now!" Penelope tried to speak, but was cut off by a familiar horn. Diesel rolled in to the scene of the disaster, a wide smirk on his face. Before Penelope could respond, The Fat Controller stepped down from his cab, looking furious.

"Penelope! I've heard about the trouble you've been causing all day! Delaying trains, trying to move criminals, and rushing off into the woods without permission! It's lucky Diesel here knew where you were!" Penelope's jaw practically dropped as Diesel smiled sickeningly.

"I tried to warn her, sir," he said innocently, "but she just wouldn't listen!" Penelope stammered.

"Sir, I-"

"Penelope, we do not have room to gallivant off and cause delays on my railway! You're lucky that the recording work you did today _was_ good, because I will be giving you _one more chance_ after you are repaired." Penelope looked incredibly hurt as the Fat Controller climbed back into Diesel's cab. As soon as he was out of earshot, Diesel smirked.

"If it makes you feel any better, _Penny,_ no one will really miss you when you're gone. The delays you caused today is all we need to see of you for a long time!" He honked his horn and rolled away, laughing. Penelope felt absolutely broken. Judy and Jerome watched in horror as the first tear she had washed the mud in a streak off her front.

"Jerome, do something!" Judy urged.

"Me? I don't know what to do! I-Norman, do something!" However, Norman was simply staring, slack-jawed in horror, at Penelope sobbing. For once in his life, he could think of nothing to say.

* * *

Norman took Penelope to the Steamworks after returning Judy and Jerome to Arlesburgh. He awkwardly left her on the turntable and rolled away. Penelope had stopped crying, but Diesel's words still buzzed around her head.

" _No one will really miss you when you're gone..._ " Penelope sniffled before breaking down again.

"Vhy did I ever decide to come here? I should have stayed in the vorkshop in Svitzerland...at least there I couldn't bother anybody!"

"Penelope?"

" _Leave me alone!_ " Victor was rather startled by Penelope's outburst.

"Um, apologies, my friend, but we need your glasses so we can repair the cracked lens." Penelope blinked, and realized one of her lenses was cracked.

"Oh, yes. Sorry, Victor." Victor tried to think of something to say, bur he couldn't, so he simply rolled away. As Penelope continued crying, Norman listened from the side of the building, frantically ranting.

"Come on, Norman, go in there! You will not make a newcomer feel unwelcome!" He took a deep breath and rolled around onto the transfer table and gently reversed into the Steamworks alongside Penelope.

"Salutations, Penelope!" He spoke awkwardly. Penelope squinted to try and make out his shape.

"Norman, is it?" She asked, trying her best to see him. Norman smiled nervously.

"Yes, that's me. I just wanted to check up on you. You seemed quite distraught after your accident today." Penelope sighed. Norman frowned.

"I know how it feels to be an outsider, Penelope. When you feel like you cause more harm than good." He trailed off, before trying to speak again.

"You just have to take every chance you're given." He smiled. Penelope sniffled and looked at him, although she admittedly could only see a blurry outline due to her lack of glasses.

"Thank you, Norman. It means a lot." Norman chuckled.

"Don't mention it. Simply helping out a friend. If...If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know." Penelope smiled.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Norman chuckled and began to roll away, before Penelope's eyes widened.

"Vait!" Norman braked.

"Yes?"

"You said you like reading, right?" Norman broke into a wide grin and instantly reversed alongside Penelope again.

"Like it? I _love_ it! I have a bookshelf in my cab, you know! Driver built it himself! Takes up a bit of volume, but it makes maintenance considerably less mundane! What makes you ask?" Penelope chuckled at Norman's theatricality.

"Vell, since I don't have my glasses and can't really read without them, I vas vondering if _you_ could read to me. Just for tonight." Norman grinned.

"I would absolutely enchanted to! Now, what would you like me to read? I have Hemingway, Steinbeck, Austen, Twain, Dickens..."

"Actually, do you have anything Shakespeare?" Norman's grin grew even larger.

"Absolutely!" His driver frantically picked a copy of _Twelfth Night_ out of the cab, and ran to the front. Norman smirked.

"Are you ready, Penelope?" Penelope chuckled.

"Yes, Norman." The diesel grinned and cleared his throat, before beginning.

" _If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that surfeiting..._ " As Norman read the play enthusiastically to Penelope, she finally felt at home. She may not have made the best first impression, but she had another chance. And she was going to use that chance to show that she _was_ really useful.

 **THE END**

* * *

So we have finally met Penelope, the Railway Recorder! She is based on the Matisa Track Recording Trolley PV6, of Swiss origin, hence her heavy Swiss accent. This story had a wide selection of characters to choose from, and I think it was excellent development for not only Penelope herself, but also Norman, who hasn't really had a major role since "The Replacement". So as you could probably tell by the whole "one more chance" thing, this story plays directly into the next one, _Ladies' Night._ That one is sure to be a complete and utter doozy, as it's Sodor's women wreaking havoc on the mainland (Daisy, Belle, Penelope, and Bonnie). However, this one was great to establish Penelope and set up events to come. If you liked it, or if you didn't, leave a review to tell me what you think!

As always, what's next:

\- _Ladies' Night_

 _\- In the Presence of Proteus_

 _\- James & The Polar Bear_

 _\- Flat Tyre_

And this season's "DVD"-esque episodes, _Tramway Tales:_

\- _Fusspot -_ Toby struggles to realize that Mavis can handle the quarry on her own, and the two butt heads.

\- _Byron on the Loose -_ When his operator drops his full lunch pail on the gas, Byron is sent on a rampage, tearing up everything in sight, and it's up to Butch, Roy, and Miss Jenny to stop him!

\- _The Strongest Shunter -_ Mavis feels threatened when a new diesel named Clive comes to help out at the quarry, and is obviously much bigger and stronger than she is.

\- _Saturday Night Clive -_ Clive befriends Charlie and tries to help him fulfill his dream of performing at a famous (albeit failing) comedy club in Ffarquhar.

\- _Stampede! -_ Toby, Clive, Terence, and George must work together to stop a rampaging hoard of cattle from destroying a village.

\- _High Speed Henrietta -_ When Spencer damages his coach, Henrietta is put in its place and takes it upon herself to make Spencer into a more respectable engine using the same tactics she uses on Toby.


	46. Ladies' Night

**LADIES' NIGHT**

Daisy the Diesel Railcar is very proud of her position as the flagship engine of the Harwick Branch Line. Sure, Ryan and Gator dealt with smelly trucks, but she brought her swerves and sophistication. Plus, the passengers enjoyed the luxury of traveling in a thoroughly _modern_ railway experience. Still, she had to give the boys credit; they did the work she had no time for! One summer day, Daisy was flouncing along her branch line when she pulled into Arlesburgh West, feeling very proud of herself.

"Right on time!" She smirked to herself. However, as her passengers disembarked, she heard a whistle and Gator puffed by with a train of construction waste.

"Afternoon, Daisy!" He called, before blowing off a puff of steam right into Daisy's face. Daisy coughed in disgust as Gator continued onwards.

"GATOR! That is _disgusting!_ " She grimaced. Gator blushed.

"Sorry, Daisy! We all do it!" Daisy heard giggling from the chute and saw Mike and Bert snorting through laughter. She scowled.

" _Men._ " She groaned. She rolled onwards, leaving the two small engines to absolutely howl with laughter once Daisy was out of sight.

* * *

Daisy was snoozing at Knapford later in the day when she heard a whistle and Samson rocketed in, bumping into the troublesome trucks behind him as he braked and sending dust from his trucks everywhere.

"Samson at your service!" The tank engine called smugly. Daisy coughed as the dust made a light film on her paintwork.

"Watch where you're going, you oaf!" She groaned. Samson snapped out his smug grin and assumed a nervous smile.

"Oh, sorry, Daisy. It's a lot easier to control these trucks when Bradford's around. Just trying to break into things!" Suddenly, a faint voice was heard from the back of the train.

"You've got me, Samson!"

"Yes, thank you, Harvey, but it's not the same!" Daisy snorted.

"I don't care about your brakevan, Samson, I'm trying to get a rest. And aren't you in the express platform?" Samson's eyes widened and looked to a sea of angry passengers on the platform and grinned nervously.

"Right, sorry." He whistled and moved out of the platform to move into the shunting yards. As Samson did this, the trucks giggled and banged back and forth. Harvey coughed as ballast hit him in the face from the trucks.

"Samson, how much longer is Bradford on the mainland? I'm nae sure how much longer I can keep this up!"

"How should I know? As long as it takes to whip that diesel into shape!" Samson felt a jerk behind him and groaned loudly.

"Although I do miss him..." He muttered. Daisy resumed her resting in the platform, although she subsided to her grumbling.

" _Men._ " She groaned again.

* * *

Later that evening, Daisy complained in the Arlesburgh Goods Yard.

"It's utterly ridiculous! This line is _infected_ by immature, unsophisticated, and completely reckless _men_! And you know what's worst of all? I have _no other girls_ to share my plight! At least on Thomas' line, I had Mavis! I swear, sometimes I just need time to get away from all these _men!_ "

"Um, Daisy...why are you telling _me_ this?"

"Because, Ryan, you're the closest thing I have to another girl on this line." Ryan spluttered.

"Judy is _right over there!_ " The crane in question snored loudly in response to this. Daisy smirked.

"Like I said, 'closest thing'." Ryan glared.

"Well, Daisy, there isn't really anything _I_ can do."

"I'm well aware, Ryan. This is something I have to solve on my own."

"For once!" Gator mused as he reversed into the shed beside them. Daisy glared at him before subsiding off to sleep.

* * *

The following day, Daisy took her early morning passengers down to Knapford, still feeling upset about her lack of girl friends. When she pulled into the platform, Daisy braked to a halt, and saw Bear in the other platform waiting with the express. He grinned.

"Morning, Daisy!" The Hymek greeted. Daisy sighed.

"Good morning, Bear." Bear raised an eyebrow at Daisy's frown.

"What's wrong?" Daisy groaned.

"There are no other girls on my branch line, that's what's wrong. I need female friends." She lamented. Before Bear could reply, loud and obnoxious laughter filled the station.

"Alright, girls, let's go over our plans again!" A quartet of very loud teenage girls had walked out of Daisy, very clearly dressed in summer gear.

"First, we spend the day at the Norramby Boardwalk, shopping!" One said giddily.

"I'm soooo excited!" Another clapped her hands together excitedly. A third held a hand up, her purse tucked into the crux of her elbow.

"That's not even the best part! You know what is?" The four grinned.

" _Ladies' night in the big city!_ " They laughed happily. Daisy's eyes widened before smirking. Bear raised an eyebrow.

"Daisy, are you alright?" He asked. Daisy giggled.

"Never better." She grinned, and rolled away after her guard's whistle had blown. Bear watched her leave with concern.

"Oh dear." Suddenly, a whistle rang out and Henry rolled into the station to pick up his stopping train. He saw Bear at the head of the express and smiled.

"Good morning, Bear!" He called. Bear grinned at his friend.

"Hello, Henry!"

"You're in a good mood! Much better than Gordon's ever been when pulling the early express!" The two laughed.

"What can I say? The weather's been absolutely beautiful!" Bear replied. Henry chuckled.

"It's hard to believe how long ago you arrived with old Spamcan!" Bear laughed.

"You mean 199?" He asked. Henry raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to him anyway? I haven't heard hide nor hair of him since then!" Bear chuckled, but felt guilty.

"I've seen him sometimes on goods work at Vicarstown. He's really let himself go!" Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Really? How so?" Suddenly, the guard's whistle blew for Bear's express.

"Sorry, Henry. I've got to go now!" Bear rolled away, leaving Henry behind.

* * *

When Daisy returned to her shed to refuel, she saw Ryan shunting some trucks nearby and rolled over.

"Ryan, can you take my passengers this afternoon? I have an errand I need to run..." Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need to do that could be more important than your passengers?" He asked indignantly. Daisy fluttered her eyelashes.

 _"Please,_ Ryan?" She asked innocently. Ryan turned red.

"Oh, um, alright, Daisy." Daisy grinned.

"Thank you, Ryan." She hooted her horn and rolled away, leaving Ryan behind. As she disappeared, Ryan snapped to his senses.

"Oh, bother." He sighed and rolled away to fetch some coaches.

* * *

Daisy sauntered up the line from Harwick Harbour into the Ffarquhar Quarry, where Mavis was rushing about.

"Mavis! Hello!" She called. Mavis saw Daisy and braked to a halt.

"Hello, Daisy! What brings you up here?" She asked. Daisy smiled.

"Well, my dear Mavis, I was planning a 'ladies' night' in the big city on the mainland, and was wondering if you wanted to come along. Just us girls, having a good time!" She grinned eagerly. Mavis winced and looked away awkwardly.

"Sorry, Daisy. I have too much to do here at the quarry. I'm sure there are other engines who'd like to come!" She rolled away, leaving Daisy behind. The railcar was flustered but quickly regained her composure.

"Yes, there _are_ other engines..." She rolled away to try and find more engines to go on her little outing.

* * *

However, the more engines she asked, she got the same answers.

"Sorry, Daisy. I have work to do." Emily apologized as she rolled away from Daisy. The railcar groaned and continued onwards.

"I'm sorry, Daisy. The b-big city isn't really for m-me." Molly stuttered before shunting some trucks away. Daisy scowled.

"Can't, Daisy. Too much work to do!" Rosie called as she rolled by with some trucks. Daisy groaned loudly.

"Oh, come on!" She wailed. She rolled around the corner towards Elsbridge and saw Thomas waiting with Annie and Clarabel. She raised an eyebrow.

"Those coaches could work..." She rolled into the platform alongside them a hooted a greeting.

"Hello, Thomas!" Thomas smiled.

"Hi, Daisy!" Annie and Clarabel, however, were not happy.

"What does _she_ want?" Annie looked away indignantly.

"Annie, Clarabel, what's with the glares? We're all _ladies,_ right?" Daisy grinned. Clarabel scoffed.

"You called us old and out-of-date!"

"And made us have to work with Diesel! He had no idea how to treat us!" Annie added indignantly. Daisy grinned nervously.

"Well, um...I've come to _apologize!_ Yes, and invite you to my special little 'ladies' night' out on the mainland!" Thomas' eyes widened in confusion.

"'Ladies' night?" He asked. Annie and Clarabel spluttered.

"No!" Annie replied indignantly.

"You're going to the mainland? Are you going to _ask the Fat Controller?_ " Clarabel cried. Before Daisy could respond, a whistle rang out and Caitlin rocketed around the corner.

"Whoohoo!" She grinned as she rocketed by, causing a cloud of dust that made Daisy cough. As soon as the dust had cleared, Daisy's eyes widened.

"Caitlin, wait! I need to talk to you!" She honked her horn and sped away after Caitlin, leaving Thomas and his coaches behind. Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"This is the most effort I have ever seen her put into anything not concerning her 'swerves'." He mused.

* * *

Ryan was hard at work covering Daisy's jobs, shunting trucks of stone as well as pushing Daisy's passengers around in coaches. He rolled into Harwick Harbour, exhausted, with a train of stone trucks. Gator was waiting at the harbour with some trucks and was startled to see how exhausted Ryan was.

"Ryan, what have you been doing all day? You look completely rushed off your wheels!" Ryan coughed, sparks coming out of his funnel.

"I've been pulling Daisy's passengers!" He gasped. Gator winced.

"Ryan, you need a rest! Let me take your train!" Ryan buffered up a train of debris and let out a few puffing breaths before whistling.

"Gator, I really can manage on my own! Don't mind me!" He rolled away, leaving a concerned Gator behind.

"That's not going to end well." He muttered.

* * *

Sure enough, it didn't.

"Come along! Come along!" Ryan called, as his trucks banged along behind him. His face was bright red, and sparks flew everywhere. Some fell on some dry brush beside the line, and it caught fire! Ryan braked to a halt.

"Oh no! Fire! Help!" He cried. Luckily, a passing lorry driver heard Ryan's call and saw the smoke, and immediately called the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre.

"Fire on the Harwick Branch Line!" Rocky called from his turntable. Flynn grinned and rose onto his rail wheels.

"Ah, yes! Some excitement! Come on, Belle! We've got a fire to put out!" He honked his horn loudly, but was cut off.

"Flynn, please try to take this seriously." Belle called and raced away. Flynn frowned.

"Lighten up..." He muttered, and began blaring his siren.

* * *

Soon enough, Belle and Flynn arrived at the scene of the fire, where Ryan had broken down.

"Please hurry! It could spread!" He coughed. Flynn smirked as the men aimed his cannons at the blaze.

"Fire's no match for Fiery-"

"Flynn! Focus!" Flynn winced and blasted the fire with his cannons. Belle was absolutely focused as the fire turned from flame to mere smoke. Flynn laughed triumphantly as the fire was finally put out.

"Haha! No fire can best us, huh, Belle?" He grinned. Belle raised an eyebrow.

"Flynn, stop goofing around! Fire is serious business! If I were you, I would treat our _job_ with more respect!" She rang her bell and began puffing away. Flynn watched her leave and sighed.

"Something wrong, Flynn?" The fire engine looked to see a soot-covered Ryan by the remnants of the brush, which was simply a bare bush with a pool of ash below. Flynn looked at Ryan sadly.

"Not with me, Ryan. But I think there might be something wrong with Belle. She used to have _fun_ doing her job, but she's been so serious lately. I'm worried about her." Ryan smiled.

"Don't worry, Flynn! I'm sure all she needs is something exciting and she'll be totally back to normal!" Flynn chuckled.

"Thanks, Ryan." He honked his horn and rolled ahead, leaving Ryan behind.

"No problem, Flynn!" Ryan called. He then waited patiently for Gator to come rescue him.

* * *

Daisy was still in hot pursuit of Caitlin as the streamliner thundered down the main line.

"Caitlin! Stop! These high speeds are bad for my swerves!" Daisy wailed. Caitlin couldn't hear her, and kept rocketing ahead.

"I won't be late! I won't be late!" She called. Daisy panted as she desperately tried to catch up, but her face began turning bright red and she groaned.

"I'm too hot! I'm too hot!" She cried, and slowed down to a crawl. Gradually, Caitlin's train got further and further away, and was soon enough completely out of sight. Daisy groaned.

"Oh..."

* * *

Caitlin reached the works station in record time, and let passengers on and off. She sizzled happily before she heard a whistle and Arthur rolled alongside with his own passenger train.

"Hello, Caitlin!" Arthur greeted. Caitlin smiled.

"Hi, Arthur! You taking passengers down to the Boardwalk?" She asked. Arthur chuckled.

"That I am! Business is better than ever down there, although Jeb's complaining would make you think otherwise!" The two laughed, but the guard's whistle blew. Caitlin looked up at her signal, now green.

"Oh! Sorry, Arthur, I've got to go!" The burgundy tank engine smiled.

"No worries, we'll talk another time! Besides, I leave in another five minutes anyway for my branch line!" Caitlin whistled and sped away towards Vicarstown, Five minutes passed, and Arthur's path was clear. His signal became green, and he rolled off down his branch line. As soon as Arthur's brake coach disappeared down the branch line, Daisy slowly rolled into the station, looking considerably frazzled.

"I am _never_ doing that again." She groaned. Suddenly, she heard a deep whistle from the distance and her eyes widened.

"That's Caitlin! She's not far ahead! I can still catch her!" She panted. She rolled ahead towards the branch line, not knowing her exhaustion-induced delirium had caused her to think that Arthur's whistle was Caitlin's.

* * *

Daisy rolled down the branch line, passing the Fishing Village along her way.

"Why on earth would Caitlin come down here?" She muttered. However, when the Norramby Boardwalk came into view, she heard a whistle and groaned.

"I came down here for nothing!" She groaned, as a startled Arthur looked at her from the platform.

"Oh, um, sorry, Daisy." He said awkwardly. His guard's whistle blew and Arthur left the station, as Daisy pulled into the middle of the Boardwalk station, out of his way. As Daisy stared out onto the beach nearby the boardwalk, she suddenly heard somebody clearing their throat.

"Howdy." Daisy looked to her left and saw Jeb the Camelback Engine smirking at her.

"Hello." She spat dully. Jeb's smirk grew sleazier still.

"Why the long face, babe?" He asked. Daisy glared back at him.

"Who are _you?_ " She snapped. Jeb chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Name's Jeb, sweetheart, and might I say, that you look absolutely _ravishing._ " His American accent shifted to a Posh one towards the end of his sentence. Daisy appeared to feel minor discomfort, but heard another voice.

"Stop being gross, Jeb!" Daisy's eyes widened and reversed, and saw a bright pink boxcar staring back at her.

"Hello, there!" Daisy greeted, "And who are you?"

"Bonnie." The boxcar replied. Daisy grinned.

"Daisy. You work down here?"

"Dat I do. Y'all are lookin' at da Norramby Knickknack Emporium! We sell trinkets to da passengers!" Bonnie smiled proudly. Daisy grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, nice to meet you, Bonnie. And now that we know each other, I was wondering if I could interest you with a little outing?" Bonnie's eyes widened.

"Dat would be amazin'! Where ya goin'?" Daisy smirked.

"Well, I was planning on taking a few girls to the mainland for a 'ladies' night out'? Would you be interested?" Bonnie grinned.

"Would I ever!" However, she was cut off by Jeb clearing his throat.

"Yeah, gonna put a veto on that one, toots." Bonnie's eyes snapped back.

"Jeb, shut up."

"If you leave this station, Bon, it would be a violation of our parole."

"Parole?" Daisy asked, bewildered. Bonnie's eyes widened.

"Jeb, shut your yap!"

"Bon, if you go, I will have no quarrels tattling on you to Roy-"

"JEB, IF Y'ALL DO NOT SHUT UP _RIGHT NOW,_ I WILL PUT MY BUFFER THROUGH YOUR EYE!" Jeb's eyes widened in fear, before subsiding to staring back out at the beach. Bonnie's rage-twisted face returned to a sweet smile and she grinned at Daisy.

"As I was sayin'-" Suddenly, a horn sounded out and Sergeant Roy the Police Buggy zoomed onto the station platform. Roy raised an eyebrow at Daisy.

"Hello, hello, hello. What have we got going on here?" He asked. Jeb smirked.

"Bon was planning on goin' on a little run with the railcar!" He called. Bonnie glared. Roy gasped.

"That would be a _violation of parole!"_ He declared. Bonnie chuckled nervously.

"Roy, I dink I get it-"

"Specifically, a violation of the _Parole Order of Conduct_ , Section 4, Article B! I would-" Suddenly, Roy's door opened, and Detective Miles Regan climbed out, talking into his radio.

"-back to the station. Yes, of course. I'll do it right away, chief. Thanks. Alright, bye." He put the radio back on its stand and looked at the situation with curiosity.

"I could hear you barking from in there, Roy. What's the situation?" Roy stammered, flustered.

"Bonnie is trying to violate her parole! She is insisting on leaving with this diesel railcar! It is completely and utterly illegal! I-"

"I ain't insistin'!" Bonnie snapped. Detective Regan groaned.

"Alright, everyone be quiet!" He shouted. Everyone went silent. Detective Regan sighed.

"Bonnie, Roy's right. Going anywhere with anybody that isn't here is a violation of your parole." Daisy looked extremely uneasy.

"I'm just...going to go..." She uneasily backed away to go back up the branch line. Detective Regan looked to Bonnie.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. You've really been behaving well recently, but as of now I can't do it." He walked back towards Roy and climbed back inside. Roy stared Bonnie down, mouthed "I'm watching you" and zipped away. Bonnie saw Daisy rounding the bend and looked down sadly.

"It was nice t'meet ya!" She called, before looking at the tracks downtrodden. Jeb chuckled from behind her.

"I told ya, Bonnie. As long as I'm stuck here, you're stuck _with_ me." He smirked, leaving Bonnie staring at the line ahead with misery.

* * *

As Daisy glided along the line to return to Norramby, she suddenly heard a conversation coming in the other direction.

"...you need some time off! You're too wound up!"

"Flynn, I am perfectly fine! Let's just get back to the Search and Rescue Centre!" Flynn and Belle rounded the bend, arguing. Daisy's eyes widened as an idea flew into her head. She smirked.

"Belle! Oh, Belle!" She called. The two fire engines looked at her as Daisy rolled up to them.

"I can't help but hearing that you want some time off, Belle?" She asked innocently. Belle frowned.

"No." She said simply. Daisy grinned nervously and reversed onto the junction the block her way.

"Now wait a moment! I was wondering if you would like to come with me and a few other girls to the mainland for a night!" Belle raised an eyebrow.

"What other girls?" She asked suspiciously. Daisy coughed.

"Oh, you know...the usual." She replied uneasily. Belle sighed.

"That sounds lovely, Daisy, but I have work to do. Fires won't put themselves out!" However, Flynn rolled alongside.

"Belle, I think you should go!"

"Flynn, I can't-"

"Belle, worse comes to worse Harold uses his water bucket! You need some time off. Trust me, it'll do you some good." Flynn smiled at Belle. The tank engine looked at him, and then at Daisy.

"Fine. When are we meeting?" Daisy smirked. Things were finally going her way.

"Arlesburgh Goods Yard. Tomorrow night." Belle whistled and continued onwards.

"See you there." As Daisy moved out of the way, Flynn rolled up to her, a huge grin on his face.

"Thanks, Daisy! You won't regret this!" He followed after Belle. Daisy continued along, a huge smirk on her face.

"That's one under my buffers! Things are already going my way!" She continued back along towards the Arlesburgh Goods Yard.

* * *

Gator was reversing a sooty Ryan into the sheds at the Arlesburgh Goods Yard.

"Ryan, I don't care what Daisy asks you to do. You _need_ some rest." Ryan coughed.

"OK, Gator. You're a good friend for helping me out like this." He smiled weakly. Gator sighed.

"No problem, Ryan. Just don't hurt yourself." He rolled softly away as Ryan drifted off to sleep for a nap. Just as Gator had disappeared, Daisy flounced into the yard and rolled alongside Ryan.

"Ryan! Belle's coming!" She called enthusiastically. Ryan woke up with a start.

"Huh? What?" He gaped, his eyes darting around. Daisy smirked.

"I did it! I got someone to join me!" She bragged proudly. Ryan smiled weakly.

"That's nice, Daisy..." He replied. He was exhausted, but Daisy ignored him. She was deep in thought.

"But it _can't_ just be Belle..." She muttered. She looked at the two cranes on the nearby siding.

"Ahem! Judy! I was wondering if-" Judy snored loudly back. Daisy winced.

" _No_." Suddenly, she heard two horns and saw two shapes coming from the distance.

"...I love the themes! Decadence! Idealism! It creates an electrifying portrait of the Jazz Age in America!"

"Norman, _The Great Gatsby_ is vun of the most boring books I have read in recent memory. I don't know _vhy_ you insist on defending it."

"It's a classic!" Daisy frowned; she was quickly getting annoyed with their banter.

"Can you two _bookworms_ be quiet?" She called. Norman the Maintenance Diesel and Penelope the Railway Recorder, who had just arrived on Sodor recently, instantly shut up. That moment, Judy and Jerome both woke with a start.

"Judy?"

"Jerome?"

"Emerg-"

"No, no, you two, simply maintenance!" Norman chuckled. Penelope stared awkwardly ahead, trying to avoid eye contact with Daisy. Jerome grinned.

"Oh, hello, Penelope!" He called. Penelope smiled slowly, awkwardly looking back at Jerome.

"Hello, Jerome. Hello, Judy." She said quietly. Norman grinned.

"Penelope went on a recording run this morning and we now have the schematics of the Ffarquhar Branch Line, and it's covered in all sorts of discrepancies!" Penelope's driver left her cab with a long roll of paper and handed it to Norman's driver. Judy grinned.

"Wonderful! Do you want to come with us, Penelope?" She asked. Penelope chuckled.

"I vould love to." However her driver poked his head out of the window.

"You've got to take on fuel first, Penelope." Penelope nervously looked at Daisy, before looking back at the cranes and Norman.

"I vill catch up with you." She said, and rolled off to take on fuel. Norman backed down onto Judy and Jerome.

"Farewell, then, Penelope! Parting is such sweet sorrow!" He called. Penelope chucked.

"Goodbye, Norman." Norman was coupled up by a shunter, honked, and pulled the cranes away. Penelope sat at the fuel tank, quietly filling herself up again. Daisy watched her from the shed and chuckled to herself.

"Maybe I'll take the newbie along...she needs to come out of her shell." She rolled out of the shed, leaving a snoozing Ryan behind. She rolled alongside Penelope and cleared her throat. Penelope froze up and stared at Daisy, wide-eyed.

"Hello." She said sharply, clearly on edge. Daisy smiled warmly.

"Oh, you poor thing. You're so cooped up in that little bonnet of your's!" She chortled. Penelope was offended, but she kept it to herself.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Daisy smirked.

"I've heard of you, you know. You were all controlling about safety, but ever since you had your accident, you haven't said a peep." Penelope grew redder and redder as Daisy spoke.

"I've been busy." She replied quietly. Daisy chuckled.

"Well, Penny-can I call you Penny?" Penelope's eye twitched as she remembered the harsh words of Devious Diesel.

" _If it makes you feel any better, Penny, no one will miss you when you're gone._ "

"No." She snapped bitterly. Daisy raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, _Penelope_ , I think what you need to really fit in is some _social experience_!" Penelope turned red, trying to hide behind her glasses.

"No, I really don't." She said quietly. Daisy continued to speak haughtily.

"Oh, I think you do! Otherwise, you might be stuck being an awkward little _wallflower_ for the rest of your days!" Penelope glared up at her.

"Vhy are you doing this?" She asked bitterly. Daisy smirked back, causing Penelope to shrink back again.

"I was going to have a few girls come with me to the mainland tomorrow night, and was wondering if you wanted to come along? Just us gals!" Penelope looked away from Daisy.

"Vell, it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice." She muttered.

"Marvelous! See you then, darling!" Daisy rolled away, leaving Penelope to finish taking on her fuel. Once she had, she raced ahead to catch up with Norman and the cranes.

"Norman! Vait up!" She called, and sped ahead. Daisy's words bounced around her head, but she remained focused on the track.

* * *

The following night, Daisy waited patiently in the yard for the girls to arrive. She grinned and chuckled to herself.

"Finally! I have the chance to have a little fun!" She laughed. She failed to notice Gator glaring at her from the nearby berth in the shed. Finally, she heard a bell and a horn and Belle and Penelope rounded the corner to enter the yard. Belle looked annoyed and Penelope nervous, but the two rolled up to Daisy nonetheless. She grinned.

"Welcome, ladies, to the first annual SODOR LADIES' NIGHT!" She announced. Belle and Penelope shared a glance.

"Yay!" Ryan coughed from the shed, his ash-covered paintwork still looking quite dark. Daisy grinned.

"Now, girls, we have a lot on our plate! First, we need to hitch a ride to the Mainland from Vicarstown, then-"

"And _how_ do you intend to 'hitch a ride'?" Belle asked.

"That sounds very dangerous..." Penelope added. Daisy frowned.

"It'll go fine. Now, once we're at Barrow, we'll make our way along the line to the big city-"

"In the middle of the night? Vhat if someone doesn't know ve are coming?"

"Trust me, it'll go completely fine! I-"

"Does the signalman know?"

"IT WILL GO FINE." Daisy calmed down and her anger turned to amusement as she chuckled.

"I can't believe it! All I could get is a bunch of prudes!" She groaned. However, something echoed in her head that gave her a brilliant idea...

" _Bonnie is trying to violate her parole..."_ Daisy grinned.

"Nothing to spice up a party like a CRIMINAL!" She cackled gleefully. Belle and Penelope shared a worried glance. Daisy looked to the sheds.

"Ryan! Can you be a dear and go to Norramby for me and p-"

"Daisy, Ryan's been through _enough_!" Gator boomed. Daisy was taken aback.

"I beg your pardon?" Gator puffed out of the shed, his face red with anger.

"You've sent him running back and forth the entire day! He was in a _fire,_ for Sodor's sake! If you want something done, Daisy, do it yourself, you feeble old _cow_!" He glared sharply at her. Ryan himself coughed from the sheds behind him.

"Gator, I'm really fine, I-"

"No, no, Ryan, it's alright. If _Gator_ thinks I'm _feeble,_ I guess I will _do it myself._ Come on, girls." Daisy fumed away, leaving Belle and Penelope to uneasily follow, leaving a furious Gator and a sickly Ryan behind.

* * *

Under the cover of darkness, Daisy, Belle, and Penelope snuck along the main line towards the Norramby Branch Line.

"Vhy are ve going to Norramby?"

"There's someone else coming along!"

"Who would be coming along that...Daisy! You _can't_ be serious!"

"What?"

" _Bonnie?_ She's certifiably insane! And she's a criminal!"

"Tish tosh, Belle. How do you know that? _You've_ never met her!"

"It's common knowledge, Daisy! This is completely ridiculous!"

"Shush! We're here!" The trio rolled into the dimly lit Norramby station. As opposed to the normally busy boardwalk of the day, it was practically deserted. Jeb and Bonnie stood sleeping in their platform. Daisy looked to Belle and Penelope.

"Well, get her!" Belle looked at Daisy in disbelief.

"You dragged us down here! Why don't _you_ do it?" Daisy snorted.

"I can't pull her! It's fitter's orders! It's bad for my swerves!" Penelope cleared her throat.

"I don't think I am strong enough, Belle...you have to do it." Belle looked at the other two and sighed.

"Fine." Uneasily, she rolled towards the sleeping duo. Her driver stepped down with a shunter's pole and carefully lifted Bonnie's coupling chain off of Jeb's rear coupling hook. As the chain clinked against Bonnie's running board, nothing happened. Belle sighed with relief. Suddenly, an alarm started blaring on the underside of the rails. Bonnie woke up with a start.

"What? Who's dere?" Belle, panicking, sprayed the rails under Bonnie, shorting out the alarm system, causing it to go silent. Terrified, she looked to Jeb, who was thankfully still asleep. Bonnie stared at the three engines in front of her.

"What's happenin'? I-Oh hey, I know you guys!" She looked at Daisy and Penelope. She then looked to Belle, confused.

"I don't dink I know you, though." She muttered. Belle glared, already looking fed up with the evening. Bonnie grinned.

"Whadda ya guys doin' here?" Daisy smirked.

"Well, Bonnie, we've decided to bring you on our little outing to the mainland tonight!" Bonnie's eyes widened and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Really?" Daisy grinned.

"Of course! We all needed a little fun, and who's better to bring that fun than you, my dear?" Bonnie giggled.

"Well, ain't dat just supah!" Belle puffed in front of her and was coupled up by the driver. She looked extremely apprehensive. Penelope awkwardly cleared her throat as the group began quietly leaving Norramby.

"Daisy, how vill they not notice that Bonnie is gone? She is a bright pink boxcar, she's not hard to miss!"

"Oh, please, Penelope. Take my advice and stay quiet, you're just along for the ride. I'm our _leader,_ after all. Besides, we're only gone for one night! No one will even notice Bonnie's gone!" Unfortunately for them, as they rounded the bend away from Norramby, Jeb popped an eye open. His face split into a wide smirk.

"Too late, doll." He muttered, before beginning a sinister laugh. This laugh crescendoed until it became a full-blown cackle, echoing off the sea ahead.

* * *

The quartet managed to sneak into Vicarstown, which was bustling with all sorts of engines. Bonnie's eyes widened.

"It's pretty big, huh?" She mused to Belle. The fire engine scoffed.

"That doesn't help when you have to put out fires..." She replied. Bonnie gasped.

"Dat is so _cool_! I dink we're gonna be best buddies, Bella!"

"Belle." She replied harshly. Bonnie looked sadly down, but Belle didn't see. She just kept focused on the track.

"And don't count on it." She muttered under her breath. Bonnie looked up over the top of Belle.

"So what's da plan, Daisy?" Daisy scanned the station, before smirking.

"We catch a ride to the mainland, of course. Come on!" She rolled ahead towards a line of blue coaches, which belonged to Connor the Streamlined Engine, who was idling in the platform. Penelope nervously rolled behind Daisy.

"Daisy, Connor is _very_ fast! Ve have to keep up vith him if this is going to work..." Daisy scoffed.

"You worry too much, Penelope." She rolled up to the rear of the coaches and a shunter, not knowing any better, coupled her up. Belle's driver came around and coupled Penelope to Belle in the rear and Daisy in the front. Bonnie grinned.

"Dis is exciting!" Suddenly, a diesel shunter rolled alongside them.

"You lot aren't supposed to be back here!" He snapped. Daisy smirked.

"I'm an extra coach, and they're just helping the train start!" She replied. The diesel raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really think I'm that stup-" Daisy fluttered her eyelashes, causing the diesel to have a dopey smile on his face.

"Oh, alright..." He rolled away. Penelope was astonished!

"Vhat vas that, Daisy?" Daisy chuckled.

"The one good thing about always having men around is that you can always get them to do what you want." Penelope frowned at this, but said nothing. Suddenly, the guard's whistle blew and he climbed into the rear coach, appearing confused as to the back of the train, but said nothing. Connor's voice rang out from the front of the train.

"Next stop, Barrow-in-Furness!" He called, and began puffing off. Daisy looked back.

"You all better pull your weight, because I am _not_ damaging my swerves for this!" Daisy, Penelope, Belle, and Bonnie, dragged behind Connor's long train, left the station, and were soon enough on their way.

"Whee!" Bonnie called, as they disappeared around a bend leading up to the Vicarstown Bridge.

* * *

It wasn't long before they finally arrived on the mainland, and Connor braked to a halt in Barrow station. It wasn't as impressive as Vicarstown, but it was still nice. Daisy grinned as her driver uncoupled her from Connor's coaches.

"Welcome to the mainland, girls! We'll just stock up for fuel, and then we'll be off!" She looked around the yard, and saw a goods shed nearby, with a fuel tank and water tower.

"That looks fabulous." Quickly, her driver uncoupled the others, keeping Belle and Bonnie together, and the four rolled over towards the goods shed. Penelope looked uneasily around the big yard. She saw a big engine from across the yard staring at them, and she looked away.

"Daisy, I think people are starting to stare." Daisy smirked.

"Well, who wouldn't?" Belle raised an eyebrow.

"She's right, Daisy. People are staring at us." Sure enough a group of passengers was on the platform, covertly staring at the quartet. Bonnie, who was out of view in the goods shed, tried to see.

"Hey, I can't see! Move for-" Suddenly, the beeping of a station intercom sounded out.

"ATTENTION. A PINK BOXCAR, CRIMINAL PROPERTY OF SUPERCRIMINAL JAMES LANGLEY, WAS STOLEN AND WAS LAST SEEN HEADING TOWARDS THIS STATION. POLICE WILL BE HERE SHORTLY TO INVESTIGATE. PLEASE REMAIN CALM." Belle's eyes widened.

"Uh oh." Daisy grimaced.

"Hide!" She cried, and reversed into the goods shed, ramming into Penelope.

"Ouch!" Belle followed suit, and soon enough they were out of sight of the crowds. Once they were in the shed, Belle looked sharply at Daisy.

"Great! Really great!" She spat sarcastically.

"How was I supposed to know this would happen!?" Daisy replied indignantly.

"Whadda we supposed t'do now?" Bonnie asked.

"Stay out of this. It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place!" Belle snapped. Penelope grimaced.

"I can hear sirens!" She whispered. They all went silent, and sure enough the sound of police sirens echoed around them. Daisy cleared her throat quietly.

"Well, I'm sure I can think of something." Belle glared.

"You've done enough."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means-"

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID THING!" A rough voice bellowed through the shed as the ladies were startled by a brakevan attached to a train of oil tankers slamming into the buffers on the line next to them. The brakevan was painted green, and clearly had a face, but appeared to have been knocked unconscious by the impact. They heard a sigh of relief from outside the shed.

"Thank goodness." The voice then belched. Daisy grimaced.

"Who _is_ that?" Penelope tried to squint ahead.

"Vell, ve can only find out by going ahead and seeing him. He's our only line of defense against those policemen." Belle glared.

"I'm not moving. The moment they see Bonnie, we're doomed." Uneasily, Daisy and Penelope moved forwards towards the shape at the front of the oil train, and saw the engine at the head. It was a large, grubby blue diesel, with bags under his eyes and a five-o-clock shadow. Several layers of rust and muck caked his frames, and stray splashes of oil covered his body, making his number, "D199", barely visible. He appeared to be reveling in the quiet, and it took Daisy clearing her throat to get his attention.

"What?" He grunted. Daisy smiled and lowered her eyebrows.

"Hey there." She said in a low tone. The diesel looked to her, his gruff eyes scanning her.

"What do you want?" He growled.

"Well, we just came from Sodor, you see, and-"

"You're from _Sodor?_ No thanks, I want nothing to do with that place. It ruined my life." Daisy scoffed.

"I'm sure it couldn't have. _I_ have never seen you before." The diesel glared.

"No, but I'm sure you've seen that _Benedict Arnold_ , 7101!" Daisy's eyes widened with realization.

"You're that diesel who came with Bear! Your names's, er...Spamcan!"

"No, it isn't!" Spamcan replied furiously.

"What happened to you? You weren't this much of a wreck when you came to the island!" Daisy asked. Spamcan frowned.

"I'll tell you what happened; Your stupid island happened! After I was humiliated by that rust-bucket steamer, your 'Fat Controller' sent me back to the mainland with the most hideous report he's ever sent. _My_ controller was furious with me, and he took me off my important goods work and assigned me grunt work, along with some tank engine's nutty brakevan. I was constantly late because of that stupid thing, and I got demoted to more and more dirty work. Eventually, they just stopped cleaning me, and I started overfilling my tank with fuel. I'm a complete wreck! I can't sleep, I can't get a moment's peace, and it's all you Sudrians' fault! Now, go away!" Spamcan burped and subsided to grumbling. Daisy winced, but smirked and rolled ahead to be more in line with him.

"I'm very sorry we hurt you, handsome, but we need you! We're just trying to get to the _big city,_ but we don't know the way! If a big, _strong_ engine like you were there to protect us, we could get there no problem. We wouldn't be a _bother_." Daisy fluttered her eyelashes. Spamcan gave her a stinkeye.

"Not interested." He grunted. Daisy frowned; her charms had _never_ failed her! She was moving forward to try again when Penelope piped up.

"Daisy, he clearly does not vant to help us! Vhy don't ve leave him alone?" Spamcan's eyes popped open and looked to Penelope.

"Where did you spring from?" He grunted. Suddenly, he saw Penelope and his eyes widened before dropping into a smirk.

"Well, hello, there." Penelope looked around, feeling major discomfort.

"Oh, hello." She said uneasily. Spamcan smirked widely.

"What brings a pretty thing like you 'round here?" Penelope felt extremely uncomfortable. Daisy, however, was absolutely furious! Penelope was stealing _her_ spotlight!

"How dare she! How _dare_ she!" She growled. Penelope gulped, but spoke again.

"Oh, I came from Sodor, vith Daisy." Spamcan frowned.

"You came with _her_? Rough crowd." Bonnie snorted, giggling in the shed. Belle bumped her hard. Penelope, however, had gotten an idea, and after taking a deep breath, let her eyelids droop and a smirk paint itself across her face.

"Vell, yes, but it could get even rougher if v-ve don't get help to the big city. Ve need a big, strong, _handsome_ engine like yourself to take care of us." She spoke in as low a voice as she could manage, and was clearly terrified underneath the exterior. Spamcan, however, didn't harden up like with Daisy. He looked at the begging Penelope nervously, before sighing.

"Alright. Just don't fall behind, love!" He rolled onwards to provide a barrier. As soon as she was out of Spamcan's sight, Penelope gagged.

"No, no, no, no." She groaned. Daisy rolled alongside, clearly livid.

"What was _that_?" She snapped. Penelope turned red, ashamed.

"Vhat vas vhat?" She replied. Daisy growled.

"Don't you _dare_ do that again. _I'm_ highly sprung, and _beautiful_! You're just a frumpy little trolley with a reading addiction!" Before Penelope could respond, Daisy snorted away. Belle and Bonnie emerged from the shed, and finally saw Spamcan.

"He's a dirty one, ain't he?" Bonnie remarked.

"He's a disease waiting to happen." Belle muttered. Bonnie smiled.

"Why don't ya give ol' Spammy a washdown with dat hose o' yours?" Belle simply glared back at her, leaving Bonnie sad.

"Just a little joke." She muttered. Spamcan looked back.

"You ready yet?" He grunted. Penelope called back.

"Yes!"

"Off we go then." Spamcan honked, belched, and rolled on his way, with Penelope, Daisy, Belle and Bonnie on the other side of his tankers, just out of sight of the police cars. However, as they passed, the brakevan at the back of the train began to stir.

"...this is a _bump-free_ zone..." He muttered.

* * *

The strange group rolled along the line through the woods. The night was dark and foreboding, with only the lights of the lamps of the engines to guide their way. Penelope was at the front of the pack, and was alongside Spamcan. The grubby diesel was making her rather uncomfortable.

"If you want to come around here again some other time, you can always sleep in _my_ shed." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. Penelope chuckled nervously, while Daisy seethed behind her.

"Unbelievable! Utterly unbelievable! There's no way she's prettier than me!" She grumbled. Meanwhile, behind them, Belle and Bonnie rumbled along.

"Dose are some pretty nifty cannons ya got dere! How'd you get dem?" Bonnie asked, trying to make small talk. Belle rolled her eyes, but before she could respond, sirens blared again.

"POLICE! FASTER, FASTER!" Daisy cried. Spamcan cringed.

"Be quiet, you'll wake him up! And do you gals have the cops after you? I did _not-_ "

"Just go _faster_!" Daisy surged forwards, ramming into Penelope and speeding up the entire train. However, Belle and Bonnie lagged behind.

"Wait up!" Belle called, and whistled loudly. However, a signalman up ahead heard the whistle and thought it was another train, switching the line and sending Belle and Bonnie flying into a siding.

"Whoa!" Bonnie cried, as they slammed into the buffers and came to a stop. Belle groaned, and was about to reverse, when red and blue lights shined through the trees. She gasped and stayed completely still.

"Oh no." Up ahead, Penelope, Daisy slammed up against her buffers and Spamcan struggling to keep up, looked back.

"Daisy, ve've left Belle and Bonnie behind!"

"They can catch up! Come on!"

"Ladies, please? You'll wake _him_ up!" Spamcan hushed them, before looking nervously at the rear of his train. The trio rolled ahead, leaving Belle and Bonnie behind. Back on their siding, Belle groaned.

"Wonderful. Stuck with _you._ " Bonnie frowned.

"Ya know, if y'all are goin' to be such a sourpuss, you might as well dell me why." Belle glared.

"You're literally an insane criminal. You hurt people." She stated matter-of-factly. Bonnie tensed.

"Not anymore."

"Really? Then why are you stuck selling gifts at a station? Why do you have an electrical alarm system rigged up if you move? You're a danger to everyone, and no amount of _rehabilitation_ can change that!" Bonnie looked down at her incredulously, before beginning to chuckle.

"I ain't what's buggin' you, am I?" She asked quietly. Belle looked away and stared down in silence. She sighed.

"No." Bonnie smiled.

"Den what is?" Belle looked down quietly and sighed.

"It's just...I feel like I don't contribute enough to the Island. I'm such an... _oddity._ It was very, very dry where I was built, and fires would cover the lineside. I just had hoses originally, but the fires got worse and worse and I eventually got these...cannons. Sure, the _people_ liked me, but my brothers and sisters, they...they thought I was a _freak..._ and I _agreed_ with them. I would be sitting in the shed, waiting for fire, when I would see them rolling by...with a _train!_ Passengers, goods, all sorts of things! But I was stuck. Since I've come to Sodor, everyone's been kind to me, but I still stay on the sidelines while everyone else has something useful to do. I'm only needed when something's burning...I feel like some kind of _reaper_. Some kind of overspecialized reaper." Belle sighed. Bonnie scoffed.

"Dat's _it_? Ya feel all grumpy because y'all are _good_ at doing your job? What kind of a reason is dat?" Belle turned red with anger.

"Why would I ever think you cared!? You really _are_ a monster!" Bonnie glared.

" _I'm_ da monstah? I'm not da one complaining about a job that I'm not only designed for, but really good at!"

"Why would you ever understand? You just idle around all day, selling stupid little toys to passengers!" Bonnie seethed.

"How _dare_ ya!' I-"

"You probably _enjoyed_ helping knock all those engines off the rails!"

" _Shut up_!"

"You're nothing but a brainless-"

"Stop it!"

"-sadistic-"

"SHUT UP!"

"-psychotic-"

" _YA THINK I WANTED T'BE A GIFT SHOP!?_ " Bonnie screeched. The forest went absolutely silent as Bonnie's words echoed around. Tears began rolling down her cheeks and she began laughing, clearly terrified.

"I was a _circus car_ back in the states!" She forced out, clearly sobbing behind her toothy smile. Belle, scared and concerned, looked back.

"What happened?' She asked, tentatively. Bonnie giggled unstably, as her eyeshadow began to run.

" _Mistah Langley_." She then launched into her story.

* * *

Many years ago, a traveling circus had been crossing the United States on its railroads. They would go from town to town, performing for a few days and then moving onto the next town. If you were to stay up into the early hours of the morning, you would see a glittering streak of red and yellow rushing by. One car on the circus train in particular loved the traveling life; seeing towns pass by and people be happy to see their performances. She would travel on the back of the circus train, experiencing the bumpiest ride, but she didn't mind. Well, at least, she didn't mind until she ran a hot box and had to be put on a siding out of the way of the circus so she could be repaired.

"We'll come back for _you_ in the morning. Stay out of trouble!" One of the railworkers called as the circus car was left on the siding. She chuckled.

"Not like I can!" She called back. She then settled down to sleep as the circus began. However, she suddenly heard the sound of puffing from down the line.

"Boss, listen, I like this idea as much as the next guy, but-"

"Shut up, Jeb, we're here now so stop blubbering about it." The boxcar saw a small camelback engine rounding the bend, and with the screeching of brakes, he came to a stop in front of her. The boxcar raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" She asked. Suddenly, a skinny man jumped down from the engine's cab and began to release her brakes. Her eyes widened.

"Can I help ya?" She asked again.

"Yeah. Don't scream." Before the boxcar could respond, the skinny man threw a black cloth onto her face. She screamed immediately, and was bashed into by the engine, who she assumed was "Jeb".

"Be quiet! You'll g-give us away!" He hissed, trying to be intimidating but clearly as scared as she was. The boxcar screamed as she as she was dragged away, but Jeb and the strange man remained silent as they left the sight of the circus. Eventually, she was so frightened that she just passed out.

* * *

The boxcar later awoke to the sound of spray paint. She looked as her beautiful red and yellow livery was covered up by bright pink in streaks. She looked down and saw the skinny man from before. He looked up at her, menace in his eyes that scared her to no end.

"You're up." He remarked. Before stepping back from his handiwork. The paintjob was sloppy, but it would do. The boxcar looked at him, terrified.

"Who are ya?" She asked. The man looked back at her, and tipped up his cowboy hat.

"Name's Jim. Jim Langley." He replied. His face had no expression in it, but Bonnie was terrified by his sunken eyes. Jeb, the camelback engine, cleared his throat.

"Not to be _that guy,_ boss, but why exactly do we need the boxcar? She has nothing that something we could grab from the scrapyard doesn't!" Jim turned around to face Jeb.

"Because, Jeb, this boxcar is our alibi." He slid her door open, revealing a wooden plate in the middle of her frames. Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"She's divided in two, Jeb. We can run a false front out of one half, and store our loot in the other." He climbed into Bonnie and lightly punched the plywood barrier between the two halves. The boxcar was terrified.

"P-please stop dat..." However, Jim just frowned.

"Ain't stable enough. Whatever, we've enough wood to build a new wall." He hopped down, and grabbed a decently wide board, propping it up into her door like a ramp. Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?' Jim ran up the ramp, and bashed through the boxcar's plywood wall, causing wood to splinter everywhere. She screamed in pain. Jeb cringed at the noise.

"Ouch." He muttered. The boxcar sobbed as Jim walked out, brushing wood chips off of his shirt. The boxcar wailed in agony.

"Why did ya do dat!?" She screeched. Jim growled.

"Listen up. You're going to help us by storing our stuff, and you ain't gonna say a word about it, got it? You and ol' Jeb over here are going to become as friendly as Bonnie and Clyde." Jim suddenly chuckled, cracking the first smile the boxcar had seen out of him.

"You know, Bonnie ain't a bad name for you, boxy." He laughed, and Jeb began awkwardly chuckling with him. However, something was happening inside Bonnie the Boxcar. Her pain caused her mind to throb, and her lips began to break into a wide smile. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she began to giggle, before bursting into a loud cackle. Jeb stopped laughing to awkwardly look at Bonnie, as the unstable boxcar's laughter echoed through the night.

" _I'LL MAKE YA PROUD, JIMBO!_ " She shouted, before cackling once more. Suddenly, a revolver shot at the front of her wheels caused her to stop. Jim angrily jumped onto her coupler and aimed his revolver right between her eyes.

" _Mr. Langley!_ You will address me as _Mr, Langley,_ and nothing else, or else you're going to get a bullet between the eyes! Got it?" His face was red with fury. Bonnie was terrified on the inside, but on the outside, she could only giggle.

"Of course, Mistah Langley." She replied. Jim jumped down.

"You're gonna be really useful to me, Bonnie." Bonnie grinned.l

"Of course, Mistah Langley!" She replied, and began cackling once more, her frames throbbing with pain.

* * *

Bonnie finished her story, and her smile subsided. Finally, she began breaking down. She sobbed, and Belle could only look back at her. She didn't know what to say. However, she started quietly shushing the boxcar.

"Shh...it's okay...it's okay..." The two stayed on the siding, with only the silence of the woods around them.

* * *

Spamcan, Daisy, and Penelope finally escaped the blaring of sirens and arrived in a dingy goods yard. Spamcan grunted.

"We're here." He said. The yard was dark, covered in trucks, and dusty. Penelope raised an eyebrow.

"Vhere?" She looked around. Spamcan grinned.

"As close to the big city as we're gonna get, sweetheart." Daisy's eyes widened.

"What!?" She cried. Spamcan winced.

"Pipe down! You'll-"

"No! That's impossible! We have to go farther than this!" She glided over towards the hillside, where she could see the big city from far away, but no rails heading towards it. Spamcan grunted.

"Only the underground goes there from here. You'd need to get on the main line to get there on this route." Daisy was red with fury.

"Great. Just _wonderful!_ I haul a troupe of misfits across the bridge, then I get chased by the police, and _now_ I'm stuck in some dirty goods yard with a socially awkward secretary on a power trip who for _some_ reason is getting more attention than me from a grubby brute!" Penelope listened to Daisy rant, and glared.

"Daisy, it's-"

"No! I can't have anything for myself! I just wanted to get away from all the _men,_ but I just get stuck babysitting a bunch of rejects! I-"

"STOP MAKING EVERYTHING ABOUT _YOU_ , YOU FEEBLE OLD COW!" Penelope screamed, finally snapping. Spamcan cringed.

"Ladies, please..."

"How _dare_ you! You would be stuck back on Sodor, still an awkward little social reject, if it weren't for me!" Daisy yelled, her voice getting louder. Spamcan gulped.

"You're going to-"

"You've been completely rude to everyone! You left Belle and Bonnie behind, and ve don't even know if they're okay!" Penelope snapped back. Spamcan heard snoring from the back of his train and his eyes widened.

"I'm sure what you gals are arguing about is very, very important, but-"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Penelope and Daisy shouted at him. The snoring got more and more sudden, Spamcan burped nervously.

"You're just dragging us along because you vant to feel special!"

"You're just a little nerd who reads all day when you're not bossing us around!"

"I'm trying not to be bossy! You just need to try to not be such a b-"

"Prude!"

" _Trantüte!_ "

"Cow!"

" _Labertasche!_ "

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" Spamcan bellowed, overpowering all of them. Suddenly, the snoring stopped and Spamcan's eyes widened. One twitched.

"Oh no. He's up." He forced out. Daisy and Penelope shared a glance.

"Who's up?" They asked. Before Spamcan could answer, they heard a loud voice from the rear of the train.

"Well, where are we then? Spamcan! Status report!" Daisy reversed out of curiosity and saw the green brakevan from before. She now recognized him.

"You're _Bradford,_ aren't you?" She asked. Bradford looked at her.

"Indeed, I am. Glad to see my reputation precedes me!" Daisy frowned.

"In more ways than one...what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Samson?"

"On a tour of duty to whip this troublemaker into shape! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Spamcan yelled back, clearly out of fear and impulse. Bradford grinned.

"Hard to believe the same strategies that work on the trucks work on engines! But, enough about me, who are you?" Daisy smirked.

"I'm Daisy, and this is Penelope. Is there any way we can get back to Sodor from here easily?" She asked. Bradford chuckled.

"Certainly. Just make your way back along the line to Barrow, and then back across the bridge. You can't miss it." He replied. Penelope looked at Daisy incredulously.

"You can't just-"

"One more thing!" The two looked at Bradford, who had donned a serious expression.

"Since you're clearly new here, I'm going to let you off the hook this time. But if you ever get lost out on these rails again, clearly being where you aren't supposed to be...I WILL BE UPON YOU WITH THE RAGE OF A THOUSAND TRUCKS! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, MAGGOT!?"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" A traumatized Spamcan shouted from the front of the train. Daisy scoffed.

"Right. Bye bye, then." She honked her horn and began rolling away. Penelope followed after her, honking her horn. Spamcan burped from the front of the train.

"Come back any time!" He called to Penelope. Bradford growled.

"Say 'excuse me' after you do disgusting actions like that, soldier!"

"YES, SIR! EXCUSE ME, SIR!" Spamcan called, before groaning. As Daisy and Penelope left, the trolley ran alongside the railcar.

"Vhen ve find Belle and Bonnie, and go home, I never vant to talk to you again. Ve vouldn't be in this mess if it veren't for you." She rolled on ahead. Daisy was stunned because glaring and looking ahead.

"Fine! Not like I care anyway!" She called, before saddening and rolling ahead herself.

* * *

Daisy and Penelope rolled back along the line, not speaking to each other, when they suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes on a siding nearby.

"Daisy? Penelope? Is that you two?" Belle's voice emerged. Daisy stopped.

"Belle? Are you two back there?" She called, hushed. Bonnie's voice also emerged, considerably more melancholy than before.

"Yup, we're here." She replied. Daisy and Penelope rolled to a stop at the end of the siding and the other two members of their party rolled out. Bonnie's makeup was running, but they looked relatively unharmed.

"The police are gone, but we don't know when they'll come back..." Belle said. Penelope looked apprehensive, but spoke.

"That means ve'll have to get out of here vhile we have an open vindow." She sighed. Daisy cleared her throat.

"That shouldn't be hard. We just have to make it to Barrow without being caught, and then catch another ride back to Sodor." Penelope glared at her. She then grew quiet. Bonnie, amidst her runny makeup, perked up.

"Well, whadda we waitin' for? We gotta start goin' back!" Belle smiled at her.

"Indeed." She rang her bell and rolled along ahead, with Bonnie couple up, and Daisy and Penelope following. Daisy tried to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say, so she remained quiet.

* * *

Spamcan, worse for wear from the evening's events, was heading along his way back up towards the depot where he was to drop off his empty oil tankers. He was exhausted, not helped by the fact that Bradford was now awake. They climbed a steep hill furiously, causing Spamcan to have that much better hearing for Bradford's rambling.

"Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four! Keep at it, soldier, and you might just be a really useful maggot someday!" Bradford called. The tankers laughed, but Spamcan simply grumbled.

"Shove it in your brakeblocks..." He muttered. Bradford thought for a moment, clearly focused on something.

"What were those two ladies doing around here if they were from Sodor?" He asked. Spamcan growled.

"I don't know. There were four of them originally, but two of them got lost. One was a blue tank engine, the other was a pink van. Looked American to me-"

"YOU SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO, MAGGOT!" Bradford bellowed, but he suddenly was hit with a wave of realization.

"Wait, pink van? American? What was her name?"

"Bonnie, I think." Spamcan burped. Bradford frowned, now serious. At least, more serious than before.

"Well, Spamcan, it has been an honour. However, I have been called to do my duty and protect this railway from anyone who may pose a danger to its safety, and Bonnie, a third of the Rail Bandits, fits the bill. Farewell!" Bradford began jerking forward, straining the coupling chain. Spamcan gaped.

"What are you doing!?" Bradford's eyes narrowed.

"Desperate times call for...desperate measures. CHARGE!" At that moment, the chain between the first truck and Spamcan broke, and the trucks were sent flying down the hill, Bradford leading the assault.

"Onward, march! We won't let that criminal endanger our territory! Right, lads!?"

"SIR, NO, SIR!" The tankers called. Spamcan watched his train pick up speed and rumble away. However, he simply belched indifferently, and continued onwards.

* * *

At Barrow, the quartet saw a long train made up of express coaches sitting in the platform. Belle grinned.

"That's our ride!" She said. Daisy cleared her throat and rolled uneasily ahead, being the first to couple up to the coaches. Penelope followed, then Belle, with Bonnie at the back. Penelope, however, looked around the train, saw who was at the front, and turned bright red.

"Ve can't get on this train!" She whispered, terrified. Daisy raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" Penelope winced.

"Because, it's being pulled by-"

"Ready for your trip to Sodor, Scotsman?" The stationmaster asked Flying Scotsman, who sat at the head of the train. The famous engine grinned, and slid his smoke deflectors forward.

"Indeed I am! Pity I won't have anything interesting to tell Gordon...though, knowing him, nothing interesting has happened to him either!" He chuckled. The guard's whistle blew, and Flying Scotsman started off, dragging Daisy, Penelope, Belle, and Bonnie along behind him. Penelope blushed nervously.

"It's him! It's really him!" She gushed, her glasses fogging up due to her hyperventilating. As they rolled away from the station, they heard an announcement.

"Runaway oil train on the way! Clear the station!" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"Oil train? Wasn't dat diesel who was helpin' us pullin' an oil train?" Daisy's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no. That means...BRADFORD!" She cried. Sure enough, Bradford came rocketing through the station, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Think you can endanger _my_ line? Not on my watch, matey! FORWARD, MAGGOTS! I'VE GOT YOU NOW, BONNIE!" He bellowed to the trucks, and began to pick up speed. Bonnie gaped.

"WHAT!?" She cried. Belle gasped upon Bonnie's horrified shout. She aimed her cannons around.

"Leave her alone!" She called. Arcing the water over Bonnie's roof, Belle managed to spray Bradford in the face, causing him to gargle and the rails to be covered with water. As Belle's blast ended, Bonnie gasped happily.

"Ya saved me!" She grinned. Belle smiled.

"Of course." However, they heard Bradford spitting the water out of his mouth.

"Ptoo! You think a little water can stop me? You're just making me faster!" He called. Belle aimed back for another shot, but only a weak amount of water came out.

"Oh no! I'm running out of water!" She cried, and sure enough Penelope began to feel a weight on her buffers.

"Daisy! Ve're going to stop if you don't start pulling right avay!" She called. Daisy grimaced.

"But, but..." Daisy stammered, but focused herself and began pulling, speeding the train up. Flying Scotsman felt the push at the front of the train.

"My my, you're a fiesty lot tonight, aren't you?" He said to the coaches. At the rear of the train, Daisy struggled onwards, with Penelope helping as much as she could. Belle felt the steam escaping from her, but still tried to help. Bradford grinned as he began to draw level to Bonnie due to the lack of friction in the line.

"You'll be put where criminals like you belong; prison!" He called. Bonnie's eye twitched, and she immediately shifted her weight forward to speed the train up. Flying Scotsman approached the Vicarstown Bridge, and saw a ship approaching from the river.

"I better hurry up! Don't want to get stuck behind that!" He pounded the rails faster and faster, separating the long train from Bradford, who shouted angrily as they were separated. Belle grinned.

"We're doing it! Faster!" She called. Sweat beaded down Daisy's face, causing her makeup to run.

"Oh, bother." She groaned, and continued pushing. Penelope groaned with effort. Finally, Flying Scotsman rumbled across the bridge, dragging his coaches, and stowaway passengers, behind him. Daisy gasped with joy.

"We did it!" Just as Bonnie cleared the bridge, it began to rise. On the other side, Bradford gasped as the rising bridge began to obscure his path.

"What!? No! Stop! Stop! ST-" Bradford slammed into the bridge and fell into the river below, dragging the cackling oil tankers with him. He landed with a loud splash, before groaning.

"Twas an honour to serve..." He muttered woozily.

* * *

As the train rumbled away from the bridge, Daisy gaped, before laughing.

"We did it! We're back on Sodor!" She cheered, and soon enough Penelope began laughing as well.

"Ve're safe!" She laughed. Belle and Bonnie began giggling and cheering as well. Flying Scotsman heard them from the front of the train.

"What on earth is that back there?" He called. Suddenly, he was blinded by a glaring light, and slammed his brakes on.

"What!?" Water covered his face. He looked up and saw Harold the Helicopter staring down at him.

"Sorry, chap, just got a little excited with the bucket." Suddenly, Roy sped past Flying Scotsman, towards the astounded quartet at the back of the train.

"Roy!?" Daisy shouted. The buggy slammed on his brakes, followed by a squad of police cars. He glared at the ladies.

"You've taken too many steps on the _wrong_ side of the law, civilians." He glared.

* * *

This was nothing compared to what the Fat Controller had to say when the four were brought to the Steamworks. Gordon and Flying Scotsman came to watch.

"At least I'm not the one in trouble with the police!" Gordon gloated. Scotsman rolled his eyes.

"Stick your lost dome in it, brother." Gordon simply grumbled in response to this. The Fat Controller paced in front of Daisy, Belle, Penelope, and Bonnie, looking furious.

"In all my years as controller, I have never seen _anything_ so...reckless! So malicious! So downright insane that I am finding it incredibly hard to find words to describe it! Bradford's wheel-deep in seawater and Samson's worried sick, you've caused tons of property damage, and I have to do hours of paperwork just to sort it all out! You all will be punished with the _most_ severity! Bonnie, hard to believe we had to put _you_ in solitary before Jeb, but he's somehow become more responsible than you! Penelope, you were _supposed_ to be useful, but it's clear that you were nothing more than a waste of funds! And Belle, I-"

"Sir, they've done absolutely nothing!" Everyone in the room was shocked to hear Daisy shout over the Fat Controller. Daisy, now that all the attention was on her, sighed.

"It was my idea, sir. I was so sick of having all men around that I wanted to have a 'ladies' night' on the mainland, but I took it way too far. It was my idea to take Bonnie away from Norramby, and she didn't try to hurt a fly! I pressured Belle into leaving her firefighting duties for the night, even if there could have been a fire at any moment! And I called Penelope a nerd to get her to come with me because I'm jealous of how pretty she is and how SHE GETS ALL THE ATTENTION AND DESERVES IT BECAUSE I'M JUST A FEEBLE OLD _COW_!" Daisy sobbed, causing her mascara to run even more. Penelope looked at her in disbelief.

"You think I'm pretty?" She asked. Daisy sniffled.

"Of course! You have a little geeky thing going on, and it's really great! But, sir, if you're going to punish _any of us,_ punish me. I deserve it! I'm horrible! HORRIBLE!" She cried. Before the Fat Controller could speak, Penelope plucked up courage and rolled forwards.

"Sir, if you're going to send Daisy avay, or put her in an impound lot, or _anything,_ you have to take me too. She got us home!" Belle rolled forwards.

"You'd have to take me too!" Bonnie, who couldn't roll forward, simply called out.

"And me! I don't care if ya toss me in an impound lot! Daisy's our pal, and if you take one of us, you take all of us!" Belle, Penelope, and Daisy looked at her. Belle raised an eyebrow.

"Are we _pals_?" She asked. Daisy smiled, and Penelope reciprocated.

"Yes, I think we are. I'm sorry I was so rude to you all. If there is anyone I could get chased by police and spend time following a goods diesel who should probably seek professional help with, it's you." The four smiled at each other. Penelope chuckled.

"You know, I almost kind of had fun! It vas risky, and I vould never do it again, but..."

"We'll never get another experience like that. It's something to remember." Bonnie smiled.

"And you know, it feels good to have finally opened up to someone." However, the Fat Controller cleared his throat.

"Cut it out! Since it's clear that you _all_ are taking responsibility, it is clear that I will have to assign you all _equal_ punishment...ten weeks of extra work, taking waste from Norramby to the dump every night." The four engines gasped.

"That means...y'all are not throwin' me in an impound lot?"

"Or sending me back to Svitzlerland?"

"Or taking away my hoses?"

"Or-"

"No, no!" The Fat Controller rubbed his temples.

"Look, I'm absolutely furious at you all for sneaking off to the mainland without my permission, but you didn't hurt anyone and any damage you _did_ do is easily repaired. I just want t know that you all won't pull something like this again. Is that clear?" The four looked at each other before grinning.

"Yes, sir!" They chorused. Penelope looked at the Fat Controller from behind her glasses.

"Even me, sir?" The Fat Controller smiled.

"Penelope, I knew I couldn't trust Diesel. Norman told me everything. Besides, when you're actually doing your _job,_ you're quite useful." Penelope grinned.

"Thank you, sir!" Victor emerged from behind the engines.

"The men have ran checks on everyone, and there's little damage done. They can return to work today if need be!" Kevin sped alongside.

"They're right as rain!" He wobbled on his chassis, but slammed down upright. The Fat Controller sighed.

"Very well. Off you go then, girls." Belle backed down onto Bonnie, and the quartet happily took off to return to their jobs. Roy, watching from the corner of the Steamworks, gaped.

"That's _it_!?" Detective Regan, leaning on his hood, took a sip from his coffee.

"Let it go, Roy." Roy simply grumbled.

* * *

Bonnie was returned to Norramby and coupled up to Jeb, where she had her own parking boot installed and now had a much heavier coupling chain to be attached to Jeb. She didn't mind though, because every night, Daisy, Belle, and Penelope would come to help dispose of the day's waste. One night, Bonnie saw the trio coming to pick the rubbish and grinned.

"Look, Jeb! It's da girls!" Jeb scowled.

"Whoop-de-doo." He muttered. Penelope chuckled as she backed down onto her two trucks of rubbish.

"Always the same vith you, isn't it, Jeb?" Daisy laughed.

"Always bitter because he knows he can't be out and about like us!" She grimaced as she backed down onto her rubbish trucks. Jeb growled. Bonnie laughed.

"Be careful with ya garbage, Belle!" She called as Belle backed onto her trucks. Belle rolled her eyes.

"You're telling _me_ to be careful?" She retorted. Bonnie giggled, snorting. Jeb groaned.

"Ugh." Daisy chuckled.

"Bonnie, I saw the Fat Controller in that Hawaiian shirt today! He looked just as funny as you said he would!" She called. Bonnie laughed.

"I told ya!" She called. Penelope smiled.

"Well, we've got to go. Night, Bonnie!" Bonnie grinned.

"Night, girls!" She called. Daisy, Belle, and Penelope left with their rubbish, heading towards the dump. Daisy smiled as she watched her friends behind her.

"Good to finally have some girls around." She chuckled.

* * *

After she had delivered her rubbish, Daisy returned to the Arlesburgh Goods Yard, where she saw Ryan a little distance away from the sheds. She raised an eyebrow and rolled alongside.

"Something wrong, Ryan?" Ryan coughed.

"Yes, I ran out of water before I could get into the sheds. It's fine though! I could stay out here overnight!" Daisy rolled her eyes.

"Ryan, it's freezing out here, let me help you!" Daisy rolled in front of him and began pushing him into the sheds. Ryan yawned and smiled.

"Thanks, Daisy! You know, if I have water problems tomorrow, you could take my stone!" Daisy scoffed.

"In your dreams. Night, Ryan." She shut her eyes, causing Ryan to chuckle and go to sleep as well. However, as soon as she was sure Ryan was asleep, she opened her eyes and chuckled.

"Maybe I would...for a friend." She smiled, and headed back to sleep.

 **THE END**

* * *

I AM NEVER WRITING AN INDIVIDUAL EPISODE THIS LONG AGAIN. At 12k words, this is the longest individual episode I have ever written. And, hoo boy, was it a doozy! Seeing as-close-to-an-alcoholic-as-Thomas-will-allow Spamcan and the return of Bradford and Flying Scotsman were huge pluses in writing this, but my favorite characters were the main cast. I loved Daisy going into this, and was looking forward to giving Bonnie her really, really dark backstory and giving Penelope some development to bring her out of her shell. Even Belle, who I think is rather vanilla in the series proper, came out of this well! A really really fun story to put together, albeit one with many twists and turns and many different characters in it. As for this set, this is sadly the last we will probably see of Jeb and Bonnie until Set 3 ahead of us. Roy has a few more appearances planned, but the former Rail Bandits won't have any more major roles this set. Tell me what you thought of Bonnie's backstory, and if you liked the story as a whole, leave a review! Hopefully, _In the Presence of Proteus_ won't take two months to write!

As always, on the docket:

\- _In the Presence of Proteus_

 _\- James & The Polar Bear_

 _\- Flat Tyre_

TRAMWAY TALES:

\- _Fusspot!_

 _\- Byron on the Loose!_

 _\- The Strongest Shunter_

 _\- Saturday Night Clive_

 _\- Stampede!_

 _\- High Speed Henrietta_


	47. In the Presence of Proteus

**IN THE PRESENCE OF PROTEUS**

One bright summer morning, the narrow gauge engines were all preparing to leave their sheds. Their fires were burning brightly and were rolling off to take on water for the exciting day ahead. Everyone was ready to take on the brand new day. Well, everyone except...

"Sir Handel! Stop being so difficult!" His fireman called as the bad-tempered blue engine sat in the shed with a scowl on his face.

"No!" He snapped back. The driver leaned up from his undercarriage.

"I can't find anything wrong with him!" He called back. Peter Sam, who was parked alongside Sir Handel and had a nice fire going, chuckled.

"You do this every morning, Sir Handel! Why don't you just _try_ to have a good time working?" Skarloey laughed loudly from nearby.

"Pigs will fly before Sir Handel gets in a day of decent work and enjoys it!" He quipped. Sir Handel scowled back at him.

"I work my hardest every day! Harder than you do, anyhow!" He harrumphed. The engines all laughed back at him.

"I swear! I work far too hard and get no respect! I-"

"Do you, Sir Handel?" The Thin Controller arrived and eyed the engines. Sir Handel blushed in embarrassment.

"Good morning, sir." He said, quietly. Peter Sam and Duncan shared a glance and snickered.

"If you're so enthusiastic about working, Sir Handel, why don't you take the coaches out this afternoon after you take your stone from the quarry?" Sir Handel spluttered.

"Absolutely not! I will not be seen pulling those...those...cattle trucks!"

"Those coaches are old dears, Sir Handel. You're just upset you aren't pulling _bogie coaches_ like the big engines!" Rheneas chuckled. Sir Handel grit his teeth.

"I won't go! I won't go!" He let off steam violently, causing his crew to cough. The Thin Controller stared him down.

"Sir Handel, if you don't get to work _right now,_ I will keep you up in the quarry all week! Then you won't have _any_ passengers!" Out of the cloud of steam, Sir Handel rocketed away up towards the quarry upon this dreadful threat, leaving the other engines to laugh.

* * *

When Sir Handel arrived at the quarry, he was in a foul mood all over again.

"Nobody treats me with any respect!" He groaned to Paxton and Luke as he backed down onto a stone train. The two engines shared a glance.

"You alright, Sir Handel?" Paxton asked. Sir Handel glared.

"I have to take the coaches out this afternoon!" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with the coaches, Sir Handel?" He scowled.

"Those coaches have it out for me! Every time I go out with them, they always cause trouble!"

"Maybe they wouldn't 'have it out for you' if you stopped being so rude to them and earned their respect!" Merrick mused from the upper part of the quarry. Owen chuckled.

"That's right, Sir Handel. You have to _earn_ respect!" Sir Handel glared.

"Shut up! You two don't know anything about coaches!" He called. He heard a whistle and Rheneas rolled by.

"Neither do you!" He chortled. Sir Handel scowled, before whistling and pulling away with his stone trucks. Luke and Paxton shared a worried glance as they watched Sir Handel grumble away.

* * *

Sir Handel delivered his stone trucks in the yard, and then went to pick up the coaches. He uneasily backed down as slowly as he could, but he ended up bumping the front coach's buffers too hard. They all woke with a start.

"Let a coach get some rest, why don't you?" Agnes grunted in her deep voice.

"Is that Sir Handel?" Ruth asked, trying to peer from behind Agnes.

"It can't be Sir Handel, can it?" Lucy added.

"What?" Jemima screeched. She was somewhat deaf.

"Sir Handel's taking us out?" Beatrice the Guard's Van asked. Sir Handel groaned.

"Alright, ladies, we've got passengers to pull, so don't be difficult." He started puffing forwards, but didn't realize the coaches' brakes were still on. He jerked back and forth.

"Get... moving...you cattle trucks!" He huffed. Agnes was very offended.

"Cattle trucks! Listen here, you rude engine, We-" Sir Handel hissed steam indignantly at her, causing the coaches to cough. Agnes growled.

"You're going to pay..." She muttered. Sir Handel's driver stepped down and inspected the coaches.

"Easy, Sir Handel, they still have their brakes on!" The proud little engine groaned as he came to a stop.

"Bother. Why can't those cattle trucks ever come quietly!" He grumbled. The coaches' brakes were released, and after Sir Handel picked up his passengers from the station, they began their journey.

* * *

For a short way, the railway runs alongside a narrow lane. Due to how isolated it was, it rarely ever had maintenance done, and was rather bumpy. This had caused several complaints to be sent to the Transport Minister, who in turn sent George the Steamroller and a gang of workmen to fix it. They were currently on break, and George's driver was reading a book in his cab. George saw the cover and groaned.

"Don't tell me you're reading those silly _Proteus_ books again! They're for kids!" He scoffed. George's driver rolled his eyes and turned the page.

"They're for everyone, George. Mary Marvel's quite the author!" He mused as he read. Suddenly, the foreman walked over to George.

"George, can you grab the mixer from the end of the lane? We need it down here when we resume work." George's driver put his book away, and fired the steamroller up.

"Yes, sir." George grunted, and began his slow journey down the lane. At that moment, Sir Handel rounded the bend. He was still in a foul mood, and was bumping the coaches. They groaned loudly, and the passengers stabilized themselves due to the bumps.

"What a horrid engine!" A man said to his wife. Sir Handel growled.

"It's not me! It's these stupid cattle trucks!" Up ahead, he spotted George rolling along the narrow lane and smirked.

"He wants a race, doesn't he? Well, I'll show him!" Sir Handel whistled and began going faster. George looked back at him, clearly apathetic.

"Buzz off, Sir Handel!" He called. Sir Handel grinned.

"Not until I win!" He whistled and surged ahead towards the crossing. George raised an eyebrow.

"Win what?" He asked, but Sir Handel didn't care. He surged onward towards the crossing...where the mixer had been left across the rails! George gasped as he saw Sir Handel approaching disaster.

"Look out!" He called. Sir Handel saw the mixer and slammed on his brakes, banging into the coaches. The coaches groaned in agony, before Agnes smirked.

"Now!" As Sir Handel slowed to a halt, the coaches slammed into him with their combined force.

"Ouch!" Sir Handel groaned, as the force of the coaches bumped him off the tracks and onto the ballast. He stopped just shy of hitting the mixer, but was wheel-deep in ballast. Agnes sniffed triumphantly.

"Serves you right!" She snapped at Sir Handel, who simply groaned. George, who was clearly stifling laughter, rolled up and attached himself to the mixer.

"I'll just be...taking this." Finally, he burst out laughing at the defeated Sir Handel as he rolled away. Sir Handel scowled, and waited to be rescued as the echoes of the complaining passengers sounded out from behind him.

* * *

A bus came to take the passengers as soon as the alarm was raised, and Rusty and Peter Sam came to take Sir Handel and the unhurt coaches home.

"I'm ashamed of you!" Peter Sam scolded as he backed down onto Beatrice. Agnes rolled her eyes.

"Whatever for? He asked for it." She grumbled. Peter Sam looked back at her harshly, but saw Sir Handel out of the corner and his eye and laughed.

"He does look rather funny, doesn't he?" He chortled. Sir Handel growled as Peter Sam whistled and pulled away with the coaches. As soon as they were out of sight, Rusty and the workmen managed to jack Sir Handel onto the rails again. Mr, Hugh inspected his wheels and shook his head.

"I can't see anything, but we should still take you to the Steamworks for a more thorough inspection." Sir Handel grimaced.

"Mr. Hugh, the Steamworks is by the top station! I'm _bound_ to be laughed at!" Mr. Hugh climbed into Rusty's cab.

"I'm here to make sure your _parts_ aren't damaged, Sir Handel. I could care less about your feelings." Sir Handel growled as Rusty started off, dragging him behind. The little diesel chuckled.

"On the bright side, Sir Handel, you won't have to pull the coaches any more times today!" He mused. Sir Handel simply glared.

* * *

All along his journey home, Sir Handel saw people, engines, and vehicles laughing at him.

"Look, Monty, it's the chump who lost a race with a steamroller! Again!" Max called as he rocketed by on the road. Monty cackled, spraying dust in Rusty and Sir Handel's direction as he tore past after Max. Sir Handel clenched his teeth in anger.

"News spreads fast, huh?" Rusty remarked, looking back at Sir Handel. He saw the engine's red rage-filled face and looked away.

"Not even going near that one." He muttered.

* * *

When Rusty and Sir Handel arrived at Crovan's Gate, the station was crowded with big engines on their trains. They saw Sir Handel and guffawed with laughter. The passengers soon enough joined them, and Sir Handel's anger began to build.

"It wasn't me! It was those stupid coaches!" He screeched as Rusty shunted him into the back of the Steamworks. Rusty rolled his eyes.

"Just calm down, Sir Handel. I'm sure this will have all blown over by the time you're checked over!" He hooted his horn and rolled away. Sir Handel simply grated his teeth and remained in the Steamworks.

* * *

It was dark when they were finally able to attend to Sir Handel.

"Well, we don't _see_ anything wrong with you from just a brief inspection, but you should remain here overnight, just to be sure." Victor said. Sir Handel groaned.

"Great. Now I have to come back tomorrow, when everyone's around. I'll be humiliated _again_!" Victor rolled his eyes.

"Sir Handel, there's only so long a minor accident can be entertaining. You're probably dwelling on it more than everybody else!" He rolled away to shunt some trucks, leaving Sir Handel to grumble.

"Why does nobody respect me? I do my part! I pull those stupid cattle trucks!"

"Maybe they would respect you more if you didn't complain so much!" Sir Handel's eyes snapped to Kevin, who was parked nearby, eagerly grinning. Sir Handel scowled.

"Go away. I'm complaining." He snarked. Kevin blushed, grinning sheepishly, and rolled away. Sir Handel sighed.

"It seems like that as long as I'm _me,_ no one will give me any respect..." He muttered, but went to sleep before he had any time to think about it.

It was very early the following morning when Sir Handel was woken up.

"Five minutes more..." He muttered. However, he heard the Thin Controller clearing his throat and his eyes popped open.

"Good morning, sir!" He said quickly. The Thin Controller walked towards him, holding something behind his back.

"Well, Sir Handel, although I'm not very happy with you for being rough with the coaches, it is very fortunate that you ended up in the works anyway." Sir Handel raised an eyebrow.

"'Anyway', sir?" The Thin Controller grinned, and showed Sir Handel what he was holding; a stack of five or six thick books, all of them with a picture of a yellow engine on the front.

"I'm sure you've heard of the extremely popular 'Proteus' books, Sir Handel?" Sir Handel raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. Passengers read them when they come onto my trains." The Thin Controller grinned.

"Well, the author, Mary Marvel, and I have scheduled a two-week-long 'reading tour' of her new book around our railway, seeing as this is where she got the idea to write it. To help add to the spectacle, I was going to have an engine repainted to look like Proteus! And seeing as _you_ are the closest to Proteus' design, it only makes sense that our 'Proteus' was you!" He showed Sir Handel a diagram of the "Proteus" from the books, and sure enough he resembled Sir Handel in all but color, and an enormous headlamp propped on the engine's smokebox. Sir Handel, however, was not impressed.

"I will absolutely not! The moment I have that hideous headlamp, and that _awful_ livery, the other engines are bound to laugh at me! I-" However, the Thin Controller chuckled.

"That's the thing, Sir Handel; No one has to know. We're going to keep the fact that it's _you_ under that paint a secret until Mary Marvel has left. Makes it more exciting for the passengers with the advertising we have planned." Sir Handel scowled.

"What's in it for me?" The Thin Controller tapped his chin in thought, before chuckling.

"If you do well, I'll let you work with the bogie coaches." Sir Handel's frown broke into a wide grin.

"Yes, please, sir!" The Thin Controller clapped his hands together.

"Excellent. You'll spend the day here." He walked away, leaving Sir Handel to grin to himself.

"Real coaches! Not like those cattle trucks! Haha! Everything's coming u-Ouch!" He felt the men beginning to scrape off his blue paint, and quietly simmered, waiting to take on his new identity.

* * *

Sir Handel soon enough was receiving a pink undercoat, and after that had dried, had golden-yellow paint applied all over, with crimson lining. His nameplate and number were removed, and soon he had had a brand new name plate fitted; "Proteus". One of the painters looked down at the cover of "Proteus and the Philosopher's Coal", which sported the engine on the front proudly and compared it to Sir Handel. Sir Handel saw his bright golden paint in a mirror and winced.

"How do I look?" He asked hesitantly. The painter looked at the cover again.

"Pretty good, but something's missing..." Another workman cleared his throat and held up a large, white headlamp. The painter chuckled nervously, and the lamp was placed atop Sir Handel's lamp iron. He was now a perfect replica.

"You look perfect!" Kevin gasped in amazement. Victor chuckled.

"All we need to do now is let your paint dry." Sir Handel looked at himself in the mirror, but only scowled. However, he began to admire his new paint.

"I look ridiculous, but I have to admit that I'm a _spitting_ image!" He smirked proudly.

* * *

Sir Handel was kept of sight in the Steamworks for the next few days until the tour arrived. By day, he would be hidden under a tarpaulin in the back.

"A truck of spare parts." Victor explained to Duke, who had come to check on Sir Handel. Duke grunted in agreement and rolled away. By night, Sir Handel would be looked over and tested, to make sure that he was in great shape for the tour. He remained in a sour mood throughout.

"I don't even know why I'm being kept here." He complained one night. Victor rolled his eyes.

"Like the Thin Controller said, Sir Handel, it's for advertising. Have you _seen_ the posters all around? The anticipation to see Proteus is through the roof!" Sir Handel raised an eyebrow as Victor steamed away.

"Posters?"

* * *

One of said posters, which had a picture of Proteus on it, labeled "Come to the Skarloey Railway for a Reading Tour with Mary Marvel and Proteus", was being pinned up in Maron station by the stationmaster, when Gordon rocketed by with the express, the wind knocking it out of his hands.

"Hey!" He called out, but Gordon wasn't focused on him. Edward was passing on the other line, and was shaken as Gordon rocketed by.

"Gordon! What's your hurry?" He called. Gordon grinned.

"I've got to keep time, Edward! I've got a famous author on board!" Edward raised an eyebrow before rolling his eyes and chuckling.

* * *

At last, the Thin Controller walked into the Steamworks.

"Well, Sir Handel, Mary Marvel is on her way. The platform is packed!" Sir Handel huffed.

"Finally." After he had been checked a final time, he whistled and rolled off towards the station, his yellow livery glistening in the sun. His lamp felt heavy on his smokebox.

"Stupid thing..." He grunted and looked up at it.

When Sir Handel arrived in the station platform, he noticed Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, and Beatrice were sitting behind him, twittering to each other. He groaned.

"Great. My first day back and I have to deal with the coaches." However, as he reversed onto the coaches, he didn't hear any of Agnes' usual snarky remarks. He raised an eyebrow.

"That's funny...they aren't giving me a hard time today..." He muttered. Finally, he heard a meek voice come from the back of the train.

"Um, hello, Mister Proteus." It was Beatrice, meekly speaking up. Agnes shushed her.

"Quiet, Beatrice! I called having a wish first!" Sir Handel raised an eyebrow.

"Wish?" He muttered, before looking in a puddle nearby, seeing his reflection, and realization hit him.

"They think that I'm the _real thing!_ " He muttered, before smirking.

"I can use this..." He snickered, before clearing his throat over the bickering of the coaches.

"Please, be calm. I will give you _all_ a wish from my magic lamp...on one condition." Sir Handel made his voice much deeper, clearly trying to sound wise. Agnes spluttered.

"Yes, of course! What is this condition?" She groveled. Sir Handel grinned.

"Give me the _smoothest_ ride you've ever given an engine." The coaches buzzed with agreement.

"Yes, Proteus!"

"We will, Proteus!" Sir Handel chuckled under his breath.

"This will be _easy._ " He chuckled. Suddenly, a whistle was heard from down the line, and Gordon thundered into the station with his express, braking to a halt.

"Right on time!" He chuckled. Sure enough, passengers began flooding out of the coaches, following a young woman with her auburn hair tied up into a bun, glasses, a beret, and a green sundress. Gordon smirked proudly.

"I hope you had a smooth ride, Miss Marvel?" He called over the crowd. She didn't respond, as she was too busy trying to quiet the legion of fans.

"Yes, everyone! Thank you!" She called. The passengers hushed.

"I'm very glad that you all have come out here for my reading tour! Mr, Percival, this railway's controller, has been very kind to me during the planning stages of this event, so I must ask that we please respect his railway and his coaches! However, we'll get to more rules on the train. For now, I'd like to introduce you to our engine for this ride; Proteus!" The passengers gasped in amazement at the engine they saw at the front of the train. Even Gordon was surprised!

"Oh my...it's true then." He muttered under his breath. "Proteus" smirked proudly.

"Hello, everyone!" He called. As the passengers began crowding around him, Mary Marvel smiled.

"I assure you than Proteus will give us a very smooth and reliable ride." She chuckled, and took out a book with Proteus on the cover.

"We don't want to keep other passengers waiting, so let's board and get on our way as soon as possible!" The amazed fans crowded into the coaches.

"Mind my seats! I'm first class!" Agnes barked.

"Stop being rude, Agnes! Proteus might not give you a wish!" Ruth hissed.

"Would it trouble you to be quiet for just _one_ journey?" Lucy added. Agnes rolled her eyes and subsided to grumbling. As Miss Marvel prepared to board Beatrice, she walked up to her Proteus and leaned down towards him.

"Mr. Percival told me you were a little embarrassed. Just wanted to let you know you're doing a great job thus far...Sir Handel." She whispered. Sir Handel's eyes widened upon the mentioning of his name.

"What did she say?" Agnes muttered. Sir Handel cleared his throat.

"Thank you, ma'am! I will be doing a _fabulous_ job being the absolute, genuine, bona fide Proteus who can _very much_ grant wishes!" He called. He looked to Miss Marvel apologetically.

"Just trying to keep up the illusion for the passengers!" He whispered. Miss Marvel chuckled.

"Okay... _Proteus._ " She winked at him and straightened her beret, running back to Beatrice. Sir Handel let out a sigh of relief as the guard's whistle blew. He whistled, and began pulling away with the smoothest start he had ever had. However, Agnes sat brooding behind Sir Handel's cab, clearly suspicious of "Proteus".

* * *

Of all the Thin Controller's engines, none were more familiar with the original legend of Proteus than Peter Sam. Some time ago, he thought he had seen Proteus' magical wish-granting lamp one foggy night, but it turned out to just be Harold the Helicopter. Thus, it came as a surprise to poor Peter Sam when he saw Proteus himself passing by with a train of passengers when he was passing the lake with a slate train.

"What!?" He guffawed as the train rumbled by. He slammed his brakes on in disbelief.

"Was...was that...WHAT?"

* * *

Sir Handel, despite his reservations, was actually having a great time. He would stop at all the popular scenic sights around the railway, everyone would get out, sightsee, and Miss Marvel would explain how the history and geography of the area and how it inspired aspects of the Proteus books. It was easy, and what made it easiest of all was how easygoing the coaches were being. Sir Handel had never had such a smooth ride with them!

"I should do this more often!" He chuckled to himself.

"Do _what_?" Agnes snapped. Sir Handel cleared his throat nervously.

"Bigger... _things_." He said hesitantly. Agnes grunted. Finally, Sir Handel arrived at Lakeside, where he braked to a halt. Miss Marvel stepped out of Beatrice, placing her beret back on her head.

"Okay everyone! We're going to stop here and get some lunch! Feel free to shop for forty minutes and then we'll return to Proteus." The passengers murmured, and split off to go shopping around Lakeside. Sir Handel simmered happily, glad for a rest.

"Perfect." He smirked, and began dozing off. However, he began to feel thirsty and his eyes shot awake.

"Driver, I need a drink." He moaned as his driver returned with a cup of iced tea. The driver climbed into the cab, the fireman following with a sandwich.

"Alright, let's get to the water tower then." However, Sir Handel didn't start.

"What's wrong with you, S-"

"I'm tired!" He replied, cutting his driver off before he could reveal his identity. The driver frowned.

"The water tower's just across the way!"

"Too far! What if I run out halfway?"

"Why-" However, a sharp whistle cut him off, as Peter Sam bustled in, clearly exhausted.

"I was right! You _are_ Proteus!" He panted. Sir Handel raised an eyebrow, but decided to keep up the charade.

"Yes, I am Proteus." Peter Sam grinned, amazed.

"You're the real Proteus! I thought I saw you in the woods once, but it was just a helicopter." Sir Handel grimaced.

"Marvelous." He grumbled, but feigned a warm smile.

"I trust you have heard the legend of my wish-granting lamp then?" He asked in his Proteus voice. Peter Sam grinned.

"Oh yes!" Sir Handel smirked; he had an idea.

* * *

"Thank you, again, Peter Sam!" Sir Handel called as he took a nice long drink from the water tower.

"You're welcome, Proteus! I'm excited to get my wish!" Peter Sam called as he rolled away from Lakeside. Sir Handel watched him go and snickered under his breath.

"Unbelievable! All I need is a splash of yellow paint and they treat me like a king!" He chortled. His driver sighed.

"You never learn, do you, Sir Handel?" Sir Handel smirked at him.

"If it's not broken, no need to fix it, driver." However, the gears inside his head were turning, and he chuckled darkly at his idea.

"Heh." Soon enough, his tank was filled, and he returned to the coaches. The passengers had gone on their tour, and Miss Marvel walked up to the cab.

"You're doing a brilliant job, _Proteus!_ " She chuckled. Sir Handel grinned.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"Can you go slowly when we pass the castle? The passengers want to know how I got the idea to have Proteus escape the collapsing castle in book 4!"

"Certainly!" Sir Handel grinned. The passengers were soon enough aboard again, and Sir Handel started off, chuckling to himself.

"This could be _very_ interesting..."

* * *

The rest of Sir Handel's tour was very successful, and the passengers had a great time when their train finally returned to Crovan's Gate.

"Thank you for a wonderful ride, Proteus." A passenger said as they walked inside the evening express. Sir Handel smirked.

"You're very welcome!" He called. He was uncoupled from the coaches and rolled away. Agnes stared at the back of his cab with deep suspicion.

Sir Handel arrived at the sheds, where the other engines were in a buzz. Peter Sam gasped.

"I told you! It's him! It's Proteus!" He cried. Sir Handel quickly flashed a big grin.

"Hello, everyone!" He called as he reversed into the shed, the engines staring at him, astonished.

"He's real!" Peter Sam called excitedly. Skarloey and Rheneas shared a glance, before Skarloey spoke up.

"Well, _Proteus,_ it is a great honor for us to have you on our line." Sir Handel smiled and cleared his throat, flipping into his deeper Proteus voice.

"Of course, young Skarloey." The old engine was taken aback.

"Pardon?" Sir Handel backed into the shed, and Duncan stared at his lamp.

"Dinnae that lamp grant wishes?" The Scot grunted. Sir Handel smirked; his plan was going perfectly.

"Well, yes it does. That's why I'm here, you see. One of you has to _earn my favor_ so I can grant you a wish with my magic lamp." Duke grunted, waking up from his nap.

"And how would we do that?" He asked. Sir Handel chuckled.

"Just little favors here and there! Trifles, really." Duncan scoffed.

"Sounds easy enough. Tae wheesh is as good as mine."

"It's obviously mine, Duncan, I helped him earlier!" Peter Sam replied. Duncan glared at him. Sir Handel was feeling very proud of himself.

"I've practically got my own servants! _Proteus_ is on the up and up!" He chortled under his breath.

* * *

The following morning, Sir Handel, eager to take advantage of his newfound status, backed into the platform.

"Rusty! Could you fetch my coaches for me?" He called to the little diesel across the way. Rusty spluttered.

"Why would I do that? I have work to do!" Sir Handel cleared his throat and looked up at his lamp. Rusty grimaced and sighed.

"Very well." He rolled away, while Sir Handel chuckled.

 _If you're blue_

 _And you don't know where to go to_

 _Why don't you go where Harlem sits_

Rusty rolled behind Sir Handel with the coaches, the shunter coupling them. Rusty tried to get a word in, but the passengers were too busy admiring "Proteus".

 _Puttin' on the Ritz_

He scowled, and gave an aside look before rolling away. Sir Handel whistled and started off.

 _Spangled Gowns upon the bevy of_

 _High browns from down the levy_

 _All misfits_

While Sir Handel rested in the shade by the lake, Duncan was not having such a swell time. "Proteus" was using him to block out the sun, and the poor engine was hideously sunburned as a result. He tried to say something, but Proteus had fallen asleep.

 _Puttin' on the Ritz_

He gritted his teeth furiously.

 _That's where each and every lulu-belle goes_

Sir Handel's tour brought him up to Ulfstead Castle, where Millie was sitting in the platform, waiting for passengers.

 _Every Thursday evening with her swell beaus_

"Proteus" grinned at her, looked up at his lamp, and wiggled his eyebrows.

 _Rubbin' elbows_

Millie was horrified.

 _Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee_

Duke was napping on a siding when "Proteus" rolled alongside and whistled. Duke grumbled away, leaving "Proteus" the siding for himself.

 _And see them spend_

 _Their last two bits_

Rheneas was taking on water when he suddenly felt a bump from behind and surged forwards out of the way. "Proteus" was behind him, taking the water for himself.

 _Puttin' on the Ritz_

"Proteus" relaxed in the shed, two leaves resembling palm leaves fanning him on either side.

 _Puttin' on the Ritz_

The leaves were tied to Peter Sam and Luke's buffers, and the two engines were puffing back and forth to fan the leaves. "Proteus" smirked; his life was absolutely great.

* * *

At the sheds, Skarloey was receiving a polish before his next passenger train when Rheneas rolled in. The well-tank wheezed as he rolled alongside his friend. Skarloey raised an eyebrow.

"Proteus?"

"Proteus. He bumped me out of the way of the water tower this afternoon and I nearly ran dry on my way back to the sheds!"

"For a benevolent wish-granter, he sure is demanding." Skarloey remarked. Rheneas rolled his eyes.

"We've work enough without Sir Handel around." He added. They heard a snoring grunt from nearby, and saw Duke.

"Where is that Falcon, anyway! A minor derailment doesn't need several weeks in the works!" Skarloey and Rheneas shared a look.

"There's something very strange about this whole Proteus affair..." Rheneas remarked. In the back of the carriage shed nearby, a first-class coach heard these words, and smirked; it had hit her.

"Yes, very strange indeed..." Agnes chuckled darkly.

* * *

At the station, Sir Handel was preparing for an afternoon tour. He idled leisurely as his passengers boarded the train, grinning. Miss Marvel walked to the front of the train.

"We'll be heading by the canal today. If you could please slow down there, that would be wonderful." Sir Handel grinned.

"Certainly, ma'am. We'll give them a comfortable journey. Right, ladies?"

"Yes, Proteus!" The coaches twittered, with the noticeable absence of Agnes' deep voice. Sir Handel didn't think much of it as he set off, but Agnes had a sinister plan.

* * *

All was normal as they approached the canal nearby Lakeside. Sir Handel was making good time, and was feeling very proud of himself.

"I've been working better than ever! Maybe I should keep this paintjob. Should get me some respect!" He chuckled under his breath as he approached the bend. Agnes smirked; her plan was coming to fruition.

"I've got you now, Sir Handel!" She cried. Before Sir Handel had time to react, Agnes surged her weight against him, causing him to jump the bend. One set of wheels followed the curving the rails and the other followed the dirt and mud alongside the line. Sir Handel groaned.

"My undercarriage!" The driver screwed on the brakes and jolted to a stop. The impact caused Sir Handel's giant headlamp to be knocked loose, and it launched off his lamp iron and rolled into the river below, resting in the mudbank. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but they needed help. The driver ran ahead to the station.

* * *

Peter Sam was waiting at Lakeside after dropping off some passengers when Sir Handel's driver arrived.

"Sir Handel's come off by the canal! We need another engine to pick up his passengers and take them onwards on the tour!" Peter Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't even know Sir Handel was back!" He remarked in surprise, but was uncoupled from his empty coaches and puffed away to rescue him.

* * *

When Peter Sam arrived, he didn't see Sir Handel being craned onto a trailer by Butch; he saw Proteus!

"Proteus? But I thought it was S-" Immediately, the realization hit him. Sir Handel grinned sheepishly.

"Heh." Peter Sam scowled at him.

"Sir Handel! You were pretending to be Proteus this _whole_ time?" Sir Handel chuckled.

"Yup." He gulped at Peter Sam's stone-cold glare.

"The other engines are going to hear about this!" The green engine said as he was coupled to a very proud Agnes. As Butch drove away with Sir Handel onboard, the spiteful engine winced.

"I know." As Sir Handel disappeared, Agnes cackled.

"Hah! That shows hi-AGH!" Peter Sam's sudden departure caused Agnes to be splashed with mud. The coach spat it out and groaned.

* * *

Sir Handel did not have a fun drive home.

"Look, it's Proteus!" George sneered as Butch drove by. Sir Handel growled.

"Shut it, steamroller."

"We have to kneel, fellas! We all have to kneel _in the presence of Proteus!_ " The steamroller laughed as Sir Handel grimaced. The more engines and vehicles he passed, the more they laughed at him. He felt absolutely humiliated to return to the yards that night, and was put in the sheds to heal his wounds.

"Ouch." He groaned, and fell asleep.

* * *

The following morning, Sir Handel was woken up by a rather cross Thin Controller and Miss Marvel.

"So, Sir Handel, I hear you've been using my character to worm favors out of the other engines?" Miss Marvel crossed his arms. Sir Handel gulped.

"Yes, ma'am." The Thin Controller sighed.

"Sir Handel, I understand you want respect, but this is not the way to seek it. Pretending to be someone you're not is _not_ the way to get others to treat you better, especially in the way you sought." Sir Handel winced.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir." The Thin Controller rubbed his temples.

"Mr. Hugh says you've damaged your undercarriage too much to run anymore tours, but we can't send you to the Steamworks...the advertising for your presence has been too great. We'll have to think of something else..." Sir Handel gulped.

* * *

"Have a good day, Sir Hand-whoops, _Proteus_!" Peter Sam chortled as he pulled away from the sheds. Sir Handel, cleaned up with a new lamp fitted, sat on a siding, exposed to the passengers, his teeth gritted.

"Very funny, Peter Sam." The arrogant engine forced out. Skarloey chuckled.

"The passengers are sure to like you today! I'm taking them in the bogie coaches!" He called. Sir Handel scowled.

"If I hadn't had that accident, no one would have found me out..." He muttered. Rusty chuckled as he rolled by.

"Oh really? Somehow I doubt that!" He laughed. While Sir Handel scowled in his siding, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Oh, I don't know. I thought it was a pretty convincing performance!" Sir Handel's eyes widened as he saw a golden-painted engine with a bright glowing headlamp disappear in a cloud of steam. He blinked repeatedly in shock for a moment, before simply subsiding to his grumbling.

 **THE END**

* * *

The final narrow gauge story for this set is complete! Sir Handel has always been one of my favorite characters, and writing him as an utterly despicable impostor was fun. I wish the modern CGI Series would return to his more disagreeable persona from the RWS days, as it has much more story potential than the one he currently has. Retconning _Proteus_ into a book series by Mary Marvel came from an audio drama called "Ghosts and Magic", which had a similar concept. Also important was the introduction of Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, and Beatrice, who will become mainstays on the Skarloey Railway in future. This is the last time we are going to see the Skarloey Railway engines this set, but I hope this closer for them puts a satisfying dot on the narrow gauge stories for this set. The _Puttin' On the Ritz_ sequence was a fun musical sequence I added in as I wrote it, as it would be fun for some jokes and timing wise. Hard to believe that eight stories are left for this set! Speaking of which, here they are:

\- _James & The Polar Bear_

 _\- Flat Tyre_

TRAMWAY TALES:

\- _Fusspot!_

 _\- Byron on the Loose_

 _\- The Strongest Shunter_

 _\- Saturday Night Clive_

 _\- Stampede!_

 _\- High Speed Henrietta_


	48. James & The Polar Bear

**JAMES & THE POLAR BEAR**

"Bye, Lenora!" Bear the Hymek Diesel watched Lenora the Catering Lorry drive away. He looked nervously up at the greying sky before honking his horn and pulling away from Crovan's Gate station with the Express trundling along behind him.

* * *

The Island of Sodor was preparing for a blizzard, the biggest in years. However, the engines of the North Western Railway were still trying their best to be really useful and right on time. However, they were already finding work difficult. Donald and Douglas were hard at work clearing the line of snow to make cleanup after the storm easier, but they couldn't clear the entire island alone. As a result, James and Edward had been taken off their normal duties to help clear snow. Edward didn't mind, but James found the work demeaning.

"This is so _boring_!" He complained to Edward as the two cleared a snowdrift. Edward rolled his eyes.

"So you've said for the past few hours, James. The less you complain, the faster you'll get it done." Suddenly, the two heard a horn, and Bear rolled by the express.

"Hello, you two!" He called as he streaked by, spraying snow everywhere. Edward smiled.

"Hello, Bear! What's the hurry? You'll be early at this rate!" Bear chuckled and called back.

"I've got to get out of the snow before the blizzard hits, Edward!" Edward frowned, beginning to worry.

"Well, be careful! There's ice on the rails!" Bear was too far away to hear. Edward chuckled.

"The express has become a much more lighthearted train since Bear started helping Gordon." He remarked, looking to James before gasping in surprise. The red engine had been covered in snow, sprayed by Bear's wheels.

"Ptoo!" He spit snow out of his mouth, before coughing and scrunching his face up in anger.

"Who does that Bear think he is? Before he arrived, _I_ used to pull the express when Gordon was busy! Now I'm stuck ploughing snow!" Edward sighed as James' whistle sounded out.

"James, ploughing snow is very important...especially in this weather." He looked up at the sky, but saw that James was already far ahead and surged forwards to catch up.

* * *

Bear had never liked snow. His engine had always been rather fickle, and for some reason he seemed to work less well in snow. As he trundled along the main line, his coaches rumbling along behind him, he was eager to get out of the snow.

"Easy, old boy!" The driver called, poking his head out of the cab. Bear winced.

"Sorry, driver. I just don't want to caught in the snowstorm!" The driver chuckled.

"It's only the afternoon! The storm isn't due until tonight, so ease up a bit!" Bear sighed.

"Yes, driver." However, Bear suddenly felt his wheels jutting to the right under him. His eyes widened as he felt himself being whisked onto a siding.

"Whoa!" Suddenly, Bear saw a thick snowdrift at the end of the siding. He slammed on his brakes, but the snow and ice made it difficult for him to get any traction.

"Help!" He cried, as he slammed into the snowdrift. The coaches bumped into each other at their sudden stop, as the passengers groaned in surprise. Bear's front wheels had left the rails, but he and the passengers were otherwise unharmed. However, he needed help, and the guard trudged to the next station to try and get help.

* * *

Luckily, a stopping train was passing and took the passengers on to the next station to catch another train and soon enough, BoCo had arrived with Rocky to help lift Bear back onto the rails.

"Easy, Bear! I've got you!" Rocky called as Bear was lifted into the air. Bear shivered, and his engine let out a pitiful "mew"; a stark contrast to his normal mighty growl. He winced.

"Thanks, Rocky." BoCo, who had backed onto Bear's coaches, raised an eyebrow.

"Why on earth were you going so fast?" Bear sighed.

"My engine doesn't react well to snow...it freezes up my gears and makes it hard for me to brake." He explained. BoCo smiled sympathetically.

"I empathize with that. Ah, well. At least you'll have the rest of the day off." He honked his horn and rolled away with the empty coaches. Bear coughed feebly as a cloud of white dust escaped from his engine, before rumbling away,

"I'd better get that checked out at the Dieselworks..." He muttered. However, he left Rocky behind. The crane looked after him.

"Could you get somebody to pick me up?" He called, but there was no reply.

* * *

The Fat Controller was informed of Bear's accident. He wasn't cross, but he had to rearrange the jobs of some other engines in order to accommodate for the accident. He drove to Tidmouth Sheds to find the engines beginning to shield themselves from the storm.

"Don't start locking up just yet! Bear's had an accident and I need to cover his duties tonight." The engines murmured amongst themselves.

"Is he alright?" Henry asked, worriedly. The Fat Controller smiled.

"Don't worry, Henry. Bear is fine, he just needs a quick tune-up. However, he was due to pull a very important train and I need an engine to pull it." James perked up.

"The express! Finally a chance for me to shine!" He pulled forwards from the shed, before grinning.

"I would gladly pull Bear's train for him, sir!" He announced. The Fat Controller was surprised.

"I didn't expect you to be so enthusiastic, James, but I like it! You will pick up Bear's slow goods train from the Dieselworks and take it to the Docks tonight. Gordon, you don't mind pulling Bear's express tonight?"

"Not at all, sir!" Gordon smirked proudly. James gaped in shock. The other engines stifled laughter. The Fat Controller returned to his car, and climbed in.

"Stay safe in this storm, all!" He shut the door and drove away. As soon as he was out of sight, the other engines burst out laughing and James scowled.

"I know you think your paint is 'nice against the snow', but I wouldn't go out into a blizzard just to test it!" Percy teased. James gritted his teeth.

"It's not funny! I thought I was going to pull the express!" He snapped. The other engines kept laughing. Edward shushed the engines, chuckling.

"Alright, alright, settle down. Let's just be glad Bear's okay." Thomas chuckled to himself.

"You best be careful out in the blizzard, James! You never know what you could encounter out there! There could be _abominable snowmen,_ and _yetis,_ and even _polar bears_!" Thomas laughed, causing Percy and Emily to guffaw with him. James scowled.

"Shut up; you're just jealous of my _important_ job!" He whistled and rolled away. As he did, he called back.

"And polar bears only live in the Arctic!" He disappeared around a bend, as snow began to fall lightly.

* * *

"How does it look, Den?"

"Well, there doesn't seem to be any...um, serious damage. I suggest that you, well, um..."

"What 'e means is, you should take it easy until we have more time to look in depth at this thing." Bear sighed as he was lowered from the hoist to the line nearest to Den and Dart. The two had been looking at his engine. Bear let out another pitiful "mew" and sighed.

"The other engines will certainly have something to say about that." Den chuckled.

"Nothing but, um, snow in your fans, Bear." He soothed. Before Bear could reply, they heard a whistle and James reversed into the Dieselworks yard, grumbling towards a long line of trucks.

"Evenin', James!" Dart called. James saw Bear in the shed out of the corner of his eye and scowled.

"Leave it to a _diesel_ to make _me_ have to pull their silly goods train!" He sneered. Bear winced in embarrassment.

"Sorry, James. Snow and I don't really get along..." James scowled for a moment, before smirking.

"Not much of a _polar bear,_ are you then?" He laughed, thinking of what Thomas had said to him earlier. Bear looked away, ashamed. Den saw that Bear was upset and glared at James.

"Bear's fear is erm, entirely understandable, James. Snow is, um, well, what I mean to say is-"

"What 'e means is, snow's tough stuff and Bear is perfectly normal to be 'avin' trouble with it." Dart finished. James rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. All I know is that Bear can't pull a train because he's afraid of a little snow. I'm not afraid at all!" He whistled and began hauling the long goods train away, leaving a miserable Bear behind. Den looked at him and smiled.

"Don't worry, Bear. James is, um, just as susceptible to snow as the rest of us." Bear sighed.

"I know."

* * *

As the day turned to night, snow began to fall heavily. The rails began to fall under the thickest snow of the season, and more and more traffic ground to a halt. For example, Gordon was taking the last express home from Vicarstown for the night. The snow brushed off his snowplough with ease at first, but he soon enough was having a harder and harder time.

"Come on, Gordon!" His driver called as Gordon began to slow down.

"I'm trying my best!" The express engine called. However, disaster laid ahead. A strong burst of wind battered Gordon's side, and gushed into his cab, putting out a large part of his fire.

"Gah!" Gordon gasped, and he grew even weaker. The driver winced.

"We can't keep going, Gordon, we've got to get back to Vicarstown!" Gordon didn't want to, but nonetheless he began reversing back along the line to Vicarstown.

* * *

Bear was glad to be in a nice dry shed instead of the snow, but he still felt upset about what James had said. He sighed as he watched the raging storm outside. He was surprised, however, when the shed door began to open and his driver ran inside and into the cab.

"Driver, what's wrong?"

"Gordon can't pull the express! We need to get those passengers home!" Bear winced at the raging storm.

"B-but, I...right." He grimaced in determination and rumbled out into the storm. His engine didn't growl, however, once again uttering the "mew" Bear so hated.

Bear arrived at Vicarstown and was coupled to his coaches. Gordon, who was waiting on a siding in the comfort of the station, gave Bear a grave look.

"Be careful out there, Bear." Bear shared a brief look with Gordon before staring straight ahead into the blizzard.

"I have to be." The guard's whistle blew and Bear tore out into the storm to try and make up for lost time.

* * *

At first, Bear held up rather well, but the snow began slowing him down. He tried to growl as he pushed away the heavy drifts, but his engine only let out the "mew", he groaned.

"Come on! Come on!" He called, but the snow began to feel heavier and heavier. Up ahead, unbeknownst to Bear, James was also having trouble with the snow. The trucks were holding him back, and there was only so much snow his snowplough could clear.

"Get out of my way, silly soft stuff!" James growled. Behind him, Bear suddenly took a breath and began to cough furiously. He looked back and saw that snow was beginning to pile around his engine.

"No! Please, no!" He cried, trying desperately to speed up. Up ahead, the snow grew so thick that James couldn't even see.

"I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!" He bellowed at the storm. He groaned.

"I don't care what Thomas says-"

"Come on!" Bear gasped.

"I'm not afraid of abominable snowmen-"

"Stop, you stupid snow!" Bear's engine began to rumble.

"-or yetis-"

"I have to save this train!" Bear cried.

"-and I'm especially not afraid of-"

"GRRRRRRRRRRRR!" James' eyes widened at the echoing growl. He began stammering in fear and his wheels began turning faster and faster.

"POLAR BEARS!" He cried, and began speeding down the line. Behind him, Bear felt himself slow down even more.

"No! No! No..." He couldn't move anymore. He was stuck.

* * *

James was terrified. He was pushing snow as fast as he could, but his speed was beginning to have an effect on his snowplough. It began to bump from side to side, and gradually a bolt snapped, causing it to begin to come off. James was far too scared to notice until he heard a loud "CRACK" and saw his snowplough on the side of the line behind him.

"GAH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed like a little girl. Unfortunately for James, he had little time to react before he collided with a thick snowdrift and was completely buried.

"MMF! MMF!" He tried to scream, but the snow muffled him. The blizzard raged around him, as he simply sat in the snow, terrified.

* * *

Bear felt miserable. He knew he had let everyone down. A tear rolled down his cheek as he sniffled.

"I knew this was going to happen...why did I even bother trying?" He sighed. He looked back and saw his passengers huddling for warmth in the coaches and looked down guiltily. Suddenly, however, he heard a set of whistles.

"Is that-" He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence before Donald and Douglas rolled alongside. Each had a snowplough attached to their front, and had clearly been hard at work.

"Evening, Bear!" Donald greeted cheekily.

"Ye in a wee bit of trouble?" Douglas asked innocently. Bear looked up at them, panicking.

"I broke down, but you have to help me! The express has to get through!" Donald chuckled.

"Och aye, we know."

"It's why we're here!" Douglas added. Bear sighed in relief.

"Thanks, guys." Donald and Douglas switched tracks, and after Douglas's snowplough had been removed so he could be coupled to Donald, they started off.

"Dinnae mention it!" Douglas called, and the Caledonian twins began hauling the express through the blizzard, Bear dragging behind.

* * *

Donald and Douglas struggled through the blizzard, brushing as much snow aside as possible, and were soon enough making good time. Bear was simply along for the ride, and although he felt happy that the twins had come to this rescue, he felt rather guilty about breaking down. None of them noticed James, covered in snow, as they passed by.

When the cavalcade arrived at the Works station, the passengers were very grateful.

"Thank you so much!" A woman called to Donald and Douglas.

"Our pleasure, lass." Donald grinned. Bear simply felt shame. However, the stationmaster sprinted up to the twins.

"James hasn't cleared his signal and was due through here ages ago...we think something may have happened to him." Donald and Douglas shared a grave look.

"Och aye, we're on it." Donald replied. However, Bear called out.

"Wait!"

"Dinnae worry, Bear, another engine should be along to take the express for ye!" Douglas called back.

"Donald and Douglas, you two pull the express. I'll rescue James!" Bear replied. The twins braked in surprise.

"Bear, ye wannae go back out there? Ye were just stuck!" Donald was bewildered. Bear grimaced, but put on his game face.

"It's my train James is pulling. He can't have gotten far if he didn't clear this station." Donald and Douglas shared a glance.

"Power to ye, Bear." Donald muttered, and gave Bear room to be uncoupled and switch onto the other line. Bear rumbled before his engine let out a mighty roar, and he rolled onto the other line.

"I won't let the snow hold me back!" Bear bellowed as he charged into the storm.

* * *

James was shivering in his snowdrift. His fire had almost gone out and he could barely see ahead of him due to the thick whirling snow. He groaned.

"Great. Stuck in the snow pulling someone else's train. At least I'm away from those-" He heard a loud growl and gaped as he saw a giant silhouette moving towards him in the storm.

"NOT _AGAIN_! POLAR BEARS!" He wailed, but he heard the growl again, and realized what he was seeing. His face turned bright red.

"Bear?" He whimpered as the Hymek glided into view. Bear chuckled, although this chuckle turned into a shiver at the biting snow.

"I've come to help. I'm not fond of the snow either, so let's get out of this as soon as possible, eh?" James was very quick to agree.

* * *

Bear pulled James out of the drift with a long chain, and was soon enough coupled up to the long train. Bear stared out into the thickening blizzard before putting on a look of determination.

"The snow won't hold me back anymore..." He growled, before hooting his horn loudly and surging ahead into the blizzard, dragging the feeble James and the goods train behind him.

* * *

Bear powered through the thick snow slowly but surely. He spotted other trains stopped in the middle of the line, but powered on himself anyway. James could simply watch in amazed silence as Bear burst through a snowdrift.

"Grrrr!" Bear's engine let out a mighty growl as he rumbled down the line. He was actually having fun! The snow wasn't holding him back now!

* * *

When Bear and James finally arrived at the Docks, Bear left the load on one of the loading lines for the following morning. The snow was too heavy for the duo to try and return home, so they were allowed to stay in one of the goods sheds on the dockside. The two sat in silence for a brief while, watching the storm, before James finally broke it.

"Sorry."

"Pardon?"

"Sorry I teased you about snow. You were amazing in rescuing me." Bear smiled.

"You helped me conquer my fear of the stuff by getting stuck in the first place." He smirked. James chuckled.

"I guess so." There was another silence, before Bear broke it.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"Did you say something about 'polar bears' before I came to rescue you?" James turned red in the face.

"No. Don't be ridiculous. Don't ask about it again. Don't tell Thomas about it." He shut his eyes tightly, pretending to sleep. Bear stared at James incredulously for a moment, before beginning to laugh.

"You never change, do you, James?" He grinned, before looking out into the storm and thinking about what the red engine had said earlier.

" _Not much of a polar bear, are you then?_ " Bear thought for a brief moment, before smirking at the whirling blizzard outside.

"Eh, I could be." He muttered, before drifting off to sleep himself. He couldn't wait to get to work in the snow tomorrow.

 **THE END**

* * *

A simpler story after the longer ones as of late. A bit of an homage to Set 1, I really enjoyed writing this one. The smaller cast, as well as the strong characters of James and Bear made this one feel very natural to write. Donald and Douglas coming in to help Bear was planned with the remix of their theme by **mktheinstrumentalist** playing in my mind, so I highly recommend giving that a lesson. Like I said in _The Polar Rocket,_ these two stories take place alongside one another, explaining Bear's hatred of snow at the beginning of _The Polar Rocket,_ as well as James being stuck in the snow in the same story, and how Rocky was left out on a siding to be found by Class 40. Only seven more stories left in Set 2, and then _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber. _Until then, what's next:

\- _Flat Tyre_

TRAMWAY TALES:

\- _Fusspot!_

 _\- Byron on the Loose!_

 _\- The Strongest Shunter_

 _\- Saturday Night Clive_

 _\- Stampede!_

 _\- High Speed Henrietta_


	49. Flat Tyre

**FLAT TYRE**

It was the hottest time of the year, and the engines were finding it difficult to continue their work in the hot weather. Duck was setting off from Bluff's Cove station with some holidaymakers, and was feeling the effects of the weather. He whistled as he heard the guard shut the last door and set off.

"Come on, everyone! Next stop, Tidm-WHOA!" Duck suddenly felt his wheels buckle on the warped rails and winced as he jerked back and forth.

"I t-thought the maintenance crew were s-supposed to have painted these white already!" He groaned as he jerked back and forth. Suddenly, one of his wheels locked on a bumpy rail and Duck shouted in pain.

"YEOWCH!" He cried, and hobbled to a stop, looking considerably more lopsided than before. He looked down at the locked wheel, and noticed a flat spot. He groaned.

"Now that's torn it." He groaned, and began to wait for help.

* * *

Thomas the Tank Engine, however, was not worried at all about the hot weather. He had been called to the yard by the Fat Controller to receive some good news, and had decided to bring Annie and Clarabel with him.

"I wonder what he has that he feels the need to call us to the yard for?" Annie pondered as they rumbled along the line.

"Maybe it could be a washdown? Would help with this hot weather!" Clarabel chortled. Thomas laughed.

"I don't know what it is, you two, but if its good, I'm sure it's something that could help us out!" They rounded the bend and rolled into the yard, where Thomas was surprised to see his friend...

"Rosie!" Thomas called happily. Up ahead was Thomas' great friend, Rosie the Dock Tank Engine. Thomas had initially not been very fond of her, but after she had stopped him from being stolen by Slim Jim Langley, he gained much more of an appreciation for her. She was sitting in the yard nearby where the Fat Controller was standing.

"Hello, Thomas!" She called. Thomas braked to a halt nearby her, and the Fat Controller walked up to him.

"Thomas! Good to see you've arrived!" He greeted. He then gestured to Rosie.

"Thomas, seeing as we're all having trouble contending with this hot weather, I am temporarily relocating Rosie to your branch line to help out with extra work." Rosie beamed at Thomas, and the tank engine smiled back.

"Thank you, sir." However, something was clearly bothering him. The Fat Controller didn't notice.

"I would like you to double-head your next train down the branch line with Rosie. It will give her more of an idea of the route. Plus, it will give you two more time to catch up, eh?" He chuckled and walked away, leaving Thomas and Rosie behind. Rosie smiled.

"Come on, Thomas! I'm excited to learn, and we can't keep the passengers waiting!" She sped towards the station, while Thomas rolled along shortly after, looking sad.

* * *

Soon enough, Thomas and Rosie were out on the branch line, Rosie traveling in front and Thomas between her and the coaches. Rosie was enjoying herself, but noticed that Thomas was upset.

"Is something wrong, Thomas?" She asked. Thomas sighed.

"It's nothing, Rosie, it's just...I thought I was managing quite alright in the hot weather. Sure, I've run late on some days, but I've been on time most of the time!"

"Of course you have, Thomas." Annie soothed, and Clarabel smiled in agreement. Thomas looked down sadly.

"I thought I was being really useful this summer, but if I'm falling far enough behind for the Fat Controller to send another engine..." Rosie felt sorry for Thomas, and wanted to find a way to cheer him up. However, as she looked down the line, she spotted a red shape driving along the road that made her grin.

"Thomas, look! It's Bertie!" Sure enough, Bertie the Bus was rumbling along the road ahead. Rosie grinned.

"Can we race him?" She asked eagerly. Thomas thought for a moment and grinned. He did _love_ racing Bertie! He whistled and began pushing forward, much to Rosie's giddy delight. Annie and Clarabel were not so pleased.

"Oh!" Annie groaned.

"THOMAS!" Clarabel cried. Bertie looked and was surprised to see Thomas and Rosie pulling up to speed with him.

"Morning, Thomas! Bringing a lady out on the town, are you?" He teased. Thomas smirked.

"You want to race, Bertie?" He asked. Bertie raised an eyebrow.

"There's two of you!" He replied. Rosie giggled, causing Bertie to roll his eyes and focus on the road.

"Meh. I'll beat you anyway! Ready, steady, go!" He honked his horn and sped away, leaving a cloud of exhaust in his wake. Thomas and Rosie briefly coughed before Rosie beamed.

"Come on! Let's catch him!" She called, and surged forwards, as Thomas surged forwards as well. They were soon enough neck-and-neck, with Bertie only managing to stay ahead by a small amount.

"I'm going to win this time!" Bertie taunted, chuckling gleefully. Thomas grinned and surged forwards, causing Annie and Clarabel to scream in terror.

"No, you're not!" He called. Rosie laughed, enjoying herself. However, up ahead, there was road work being done. Bertie was so busy trying to stay ahead of Thomas and Rosie that he didn't see the roadworks! A workman called out.

"Bertie, stop! Look out!" Bertie's eyes snapped forward and he gasped before screwing on his brakes. His tires skidded on the pavement, but he couldn't avoid the deep pothole in the road. He bumped into the pothole, creating a puncture in his front right tire. He finally managed to roll to a stop within the roadworks.

"Ouch." He groaned. He looked down and saw that his punctured tire had gone flat. He looked up to try and call out to Thomas, but the train was too far ahead. He groaned in pain and looked awkwardly at the workmen before sheepishly grinning.

* * *

Rosie and Thomas rolled into Ffarquhar laughing, not knowing what had happened to Bertie.

"That was fun!" Rosie giggled. Thomas chuckled.

"I knew we could win! Thank you, Rosie!" He looked down the road to wait for Bertie, but couldn't see the bus anywhere.

"Where could Bertie have gotten to? He's never this late!" Rosie looked back as well with worry. Before either of them had time to think about it, they heard a bell and saw Toby had pulled in behind them, with Henrietta looking fuller than just the workmen. The stationmaster ran up to Rosie and Thomas.

"You two need to get into the loop line! We've had to run an extra train since the bus broke down and it needs room to get into the platform!"

"Bertie broke down?" Thomas asked, concerned, but Rosie pulled him forwards and he was forced to go around while Toby pulled into the platform to let Bertie's passengers out.

* * *

When Rosie and Thomas had pulled around the loop, they had a rather humorous sight waiting for them, or so Thomas thought.

"Bertie? What are you doing hanging there?" He chortled. A disgruntled Bertie was hanging by his front from the hook of Butch the Breakdown Lorry, whose driver was having a sip of tea from his thermos leaning up against him. Bertie sighed.

"I ran into a pothole and got a flat tire..." He muttered sheepishly. Thomas stared at Bertie incredulously for a moment and then began to laugh.

"A flat tire! You lost because of a _flat tire_!" He chortled. Rosie began chuckling uneasily, but quieted down when she saw Bertie's annoyed expression.

"Yes, a flat tire. It could happen to anyone." He snapped back. Thomas snorted with laughter.

"Bertie, _engines_ can't get flat tires!" He replied, and bursted out laughing. Bertie seethed with anger.

"They were doing work on the road..." He muttered through gritted teeth. Thomas chuckled.

"Well, Bertie, whatever work is being done on the railway, _we_ can't get flat tires! A bump on the line, we power on and keep going! One bump for you and you're down for the count! It's like you're made of glass!" Butch's driver realized that his thermos was empty and climbed back into the cab before starting the engine up and driving off, carrying Bertie on the hook. Bertie tried to think of a witty comeback to Thomas, but only sat in angered silence as he was dragged away from the station. Rosie felt uneasy, but simply decided to begin shunting her trucks for her goods train.

"Thanks for the ride, Thomas! It was...fun!" She rolled away, leaving Thomas behind. As soon as she was gone, Annie and Clarabel began chittering.

"Thomas! That was _very_ rude!" Clarabel snapped. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I'm perfectly useful. If there's anyone who needs help, it's Bertie. Not me..." He whistled and steamed away, pulling his coaches and a new set of passengers back up the line.

* * *

Bertie was dropped off at the Bus Depot near the big station. He felt rather upset with Thomas, but even more upset at the engines who passed by. He stared at Percy's wheels as he rolled by with some trucks.

"Engines can't get flat tires...Ridiculous! I'm not fragile! I'm sure Thomas can get hurt by something just as ordinary!" But try as he might, he couldn't think of what. He had had a spare tire fitted, but other buses had been sent to fill his duties so he was left idling in the depot until the dispatcher walked up.

"Bertie, the bus meant to take the workers home from the Steamworks has broken down. Could you go and pick them up, please?" Bertie smiled. At least he had work.

"Yes, sir!" Bertie honked his horn and rolled away towards the Steamworks. However, he gasped.

"Victor! He's _bound_ to know if engines can get something like a flat tire! I should ask him!" Bertie revved his engine and zoomed along the road towards the Steamworks.

* * *

Bertie rolled into the Steamworks as the sun was beginning to set. Victor, who had been working on something, turned around on the turntable and saw him.

"Good evening, Bertie! We don't see you around here much!" Bertie smiled.

"Evening, Victor." He greeted, but he was distracted. Kevin, who was passing with a load of parts, noticed Bertie's expression and stopped.

"Something wrong, Bertie?"

"It's nothing, Kevin, it's just...Victor? Can engines get flat tires?" Bertie asked. Victor was taken aback.

"Well, not _quite,_ but-"

"Of course we can!" Bertie was startled to see an irate Duck calling down at him from the lift above. He had one of his wheels removed.

"Duck? Where'd you spring from?"

"Engines can completely get flat tyres! It's why I'm here!" Bertie stared at Duck's remaining wheels before raising an eyebrow.

"But you don't have tires?" Victor cleared his throat and chuckled.

"Not rubber tires like you have, Bertie. Steel _tyres._ Engines have a steel rim that goes around their wheels, called a tyre. It doesn't quite go flat the same way your tires do though. Most of the time, our's get wear and tear from getting forced forward with our brakes on-"

"Or getting caught on jagged rails..." Duck cut in. Bertie thought about this new knowledge before beginning to laugh.

"It's not _that_ funny." Duck muttered.

"Thomas will have a field day with that! He thinks he's _invincible!_ Thanks, Victor!" The last of the workers had climbed aboard Bertie, and the bus honked before revving away.

"Get well soon, Duck! Can't _wait_ to tell Thomas this!" Bertie laughed to himself as he rolled along the route home.

* * *

The following morning, Bertie was on his normal route again. It was his first run of the day, and he was excited to get back at Thomas. However, the tank engine was nowhere to be seen on his normal passenger run.

"That's funny...he's usually out here by now!" Suddenly, Bertie heard a whistle and a cloud of dust surged in his direction. He coughed furiously and was surprised to hear the terrified screaming of Annie and Clarabel as a familiar passenger train bolted by. Bertie's eyes widened.

"Faster than usual..." He remarked, before speeding up to draw level with the tank engine. Thomas looked very smug that morning. Bertie honked.

"Morning, Thomas! You seem ready for a race!" He remarked. Thomas smirked at him.

"I don't think you can handle it, Bertie. You could get a flat tire at any moment! Doesn't that make you a bit _delicate_?" It was Bertie's turn to smirk.

"Well, _actually,_ Thomas, I f-" Bertie was cut off by Thomas' whistle and the tank engine grinning before racing ahead. Bertie was startled by Thomas' speed and began to slow down himself.

"His passengers won't like that..." He muttered.

* * *

Indeed, they didn't. When Thomas arrived at Ffarquhar, Annie and Clarabel had several choice words for him. Thomas, however, was just looking at the clock in the station, and seeming relieved that he was on time. Annie and Clarabel didn't let him have his relief for long.

"If we wanted to take a ride with _Gordon,_ we would have asked _him_!" Annie snapped.

"Much less us, the passengers! They don't like being bounced about like-"

"Peas in a frying pan?" Thomas interrupted cheekily.

"Popcorn in a microwave!" Clarabel snarked back. The passengers were grumbling as well, as Rosie saw when she pulled into the other platform with a goods train. She winced as she heard them chatter.

"Bumpiest ride I've ever had!" One man fumed.

"This railway really has gone to the dogs!" A woman agreed. Rosie noticed Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel squabbling, and decided she had to do something. She cleared her throat loudly, getting the attention of Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel.

"Thomas, if you're okay with it, I was wondering if we could swap jobs? I take Annie and Clarabel for the afternoon, and you take my trucks down from the quarry! I'd love to see more of the line!" She beamed eagerly. Annie and Clarabel looked at her gratefully. Thomas scoffed.

"I don't see why not." He muttered.

"Trucks won't care about how fast you go!" Annie added. Thomas smirked.

"Yes! I will!" He whistled and rolled up towards the quarry. As soon as he was out of sight, the two coaches thanked Rosie profusely.

"I could never take a ride like that again!" Clarabel groaned. Rosie looked worriedly after Thomas.

"I hope he's okay..." She worried.

* * *

Thomas rolled into the quarry, where he found a line of trucks waiting for him, filled with stone. They were surprised to see him.

"What's the blue one doing up here?"

"We thought we were getting the lady!" Thomas bumped them hard.

"Well, you have me! And I plan on going _very_ fast! I can't get a flat like Bertie can!" Thomas was coupled up, whistled, and pulled away dragging his train behind him, before quickly beginning to build up speed.

"Hey! Mind your pace!" A truck shouted.

"I think I'm going to be sick..." Another groaned. The trucks were not happy with Thomas' speed, and began to make a plan...

* * *

Up ahead, at the farm crossing, Terence the Tractor was hard at work hauling a cartload of straw down to another farm.

"Come on! Come on! We have to make t-AGH!" Terence was suddenly stopped by a loud snapping sound and the scraping of wood on tarmac. He stopped and looked back to see that one of the wheels on his cart had snapped off. He winced.

"Uh oh. That's right on the tracks, I'd better-" Suddenly, Terence heard a loud whistle and saw Thomas tearing down the line with his load of stone. He gasped and honked his horn as loudly as he could.

"Thomas! Stop!" He called. Thomas saw the broken cart and gasped before slamming on his brakes. The trucks began to giggle.

"Now, lads!" The trucks surged forwards into Thomas, forcing him to apply his brakes harder. His tyres began to become worn down up until Thomas burst through the broken cart and came to a sudden stop. Straw flew everywhere as Thomas let out a groan of pain.

"Ouch." Terence cringed.

"Sorry, Thomas. Are you alright?" Before Thomas could respond, his fireman cried out n horror.

"Thomas! Your wheels have gone flat!"

"Must have been stopping so quickly..." The driver sighed. Thomas groaned in pain. He was not looking forward to seeing the other engines.

* * *

Soon enough, help had arrived. Percy took Thomas' stone train onwards (as well as carrying the remains of the broken cart in a spare truck), while Rosie brought Judy and Jerome to help lower Thomas onto a flatbed to be taken to the works. As Rosie pushed the train along, she noticed Thomas' sad expression.

"Thomas, why were you going so fast today?" She asked. Thomas sighed.

"It's just, well, I...I thought the Fat Controller sending you to help me was because I was slow and not on time. But I _was_ on time! But then yesterday I saw that Bertie had his flat tire, and I just wanted to prove I was better...I've made a fool of myself, haven't I?" Rosie chuckled.

"A bit, but it's alright. The Fat Controller is having me manage your work while you're getting your wheels replaced. Maybe when you're back, you can take things a bit more carefully?' She teased. Thomas laughed.

"Maybe I should. I should apologize to Bertie when I see him too. You're a great friend, Rosie!" Rosie blushed, before continuing along towards the Steamworks.

* * *

By evening, Rosie had dropped Thomas off at the Steamworks, where he was put on the hoist and his wheels were removed. Duck, who had just finished his repairs, whistled at Thomas.

"Bertie was looking for you! Keep an eye out for him!" Thomas sighed before hearing the familiar horn of his friend, who rolled into the Steamworks.

"Are you alright, Thomas? Terence and Rosie told me everything!" Bertie looked up at him. Thomas sighed.

"Bertie, I'm so sorry that I was rude to you. A flat tire, or tyre, could happen to any vehicle, on road or rail. I just wanted to prove that I was faster and reliable so the Fat Controller would be proud of me..." Bertie smiled.

"I'm sure he's not proud of you now, but thanks for the apology! I've been trying to tell you all day that engines can get flat tyres, but I guess you found out for yourself!" The two friends laughed.

"Thomas, when you're back, let's have another race. A real one! No flat tires or extra help, just us two!" Thomas smiled.

"I'd like that...though I'm sure Annie and Clarabel wouldn't!" The two friendly rivals laughed, and spent the night planning their next race for when Thomas returned.

 **THE END**

* * *

20 episodes into Set 2! A nice simple story based around the Thomas-Bertie dynamic, although Rosie and Thomas' dynamic from _ROTRB_ gets carried over to here! Bertie isn't a character that I use that often, so giving him a major role here was really nice. Duck's role was very S18-esque, and giving Terence, Victor, and Kevin roles just seemed obvious. I tried to make this an episode that would fit in with the current Thomas' Branch Line episodes in the series (Thomas' Shortcut, Thomas and the Emergency Cable, Thomas the Babysitter, and The Other Side of the Mountain), taking special inspiration from TOSOTM, except having Bertie be the one who is teased.

As with last year's _Sudrian Surprises, Tramway Tales_ will take longer than normal to upload, due to me wanting to finish all the episodes on it before uploading it all over the course of one week, complete with a trailer for _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber _at the end.

And also like last year, now is the time I would like to see your favorite episodes! Leave a review, and in it state your top 10 episodes of Set 2, and maybe also your top 10 episodes of both Set 1 and 2. Excited to see the feedback on this!

And, as always, what's next:

TRAMWAY TALES (get ready):

\- _Fusspot!_

 _\- Byron on the Loose_

 _\- The Strongest Shunter_

 _\- Saturday Night Clive_

 _\- Stampede!_

 _\- High Speed Henrietta_


	50. TT1 - Fusspot!

**FUSSPOT!**

Mavis the Quarry Diesel was busier than ever. The Harwick Harbour Project had doubled her journeys, and she was constantly sent back and forth between the site and the quarry, hauling heavy trucks. Mavis didn't mind, as she loved being able to take regular journeys outside the quarry. As much as she enjoyed her work, it had really stretched her for time, and had begun to wear her out. Early one morning, Mavis was doing her morning organization of the quarry, as well as preparing trains for later in the day.

"And Toby's over here..." She began shunting some trucks towards the end of a siding, but suddenly saw them swerve. The points had been set in the wrong direction!

"Oh no!" Mavis cried. The trucks surged into more, setting off a chain reaction that moved every truck in the quarry from its original spot. Mavis gasped.

"I don't have time to fix this!" Suddenly, the Quarry Manager walked up to her.

"Mavis, you're needed to take a train to Harwick Harbour, on the double!" Mavis looked around at the messy quarry, wincing. She groaned and rolled away to fetch her trucks.

"Fiddlesticks!" She grumbled, as she coupled up to her trucks and rolled away, leaving the quarry in disarray.

* * *

Later in the morning, Toby arrived with the workers. It was his usual routine, but this morning was different.

"Enjoy your work today!" Henrietta called, before chuckling. She then looked to Toby.

"Toby, are we going to collect our trucks now?" She asked. She got no response.

"Toby? Toby!" The tram engine snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry, Henrietta. It's just that...the quarry's a mess! How does Mavis get anything done? This place is a pigsty!" Henrietta winced. Toby had known Mavis since she arrived, and as result he was rather quick to be hard on her.

"Now, Toby, I think it looks messy too, but I'm sure Mavis knows where _everything_ is, so we shouldn't touch-"

"That's it! I need to reorganize this, this is utterly ridiculous! I can't even find _my_ train, much less anything else! Come on!" Henrietta looked rather worried as Toby began shunting the trucks, but she decided to remain silent. Toby had soon enough reorganized the quarry _his_ way, which was significantly different from Mavis'.

"Perfect! Much easier to find things now!" Toby and Henrietta were coupled to a train of stone trucks, and Toby rang his bell before pulling away.

"I hope so..." Henrietta muttered, as the two left the quarry radically different than from how they found it. Little did Toby know, a line of trucks he had moved to the other side of the quarry was going to cause a lot of trouble.

* * *

Mavis returned from the harbour that afternoon, searching for more stone. However, when she returned to the siding where she had set up her train this morning, she found that it wasn't there.

"What? I put the trucks here this morning! Where are they?" She sped around the quarry, checking every siding she could find, but nothing seemed to be the same!

"I organized the quarry this morning! How is it already such a mess?" She rumbled around the quarry, bumping trucks out of the way, frantically looking for her train.

"You trucks move all on your own, huh?" She grumbled, as the giggling trucks began laughing at her plight. Finally, she found herself on the opposite end of the quarry, where she shunted a truck out of the way to find her trucks on a siding.

"How did you get over here?" She asked, bewildered. The front truck of the train blew her a raspberry as she coupled up to the trucks and sped away towards the harbour, trying to make up for lost time.

* * *

However, when Mavis arrived at the harbour, she saw a very stern foreman waiting for her.

"Mavis! You're thirty minutes late! We've got to get this stone unloaded as soon as possible or we'll be behind the schedule! You can bet I'll be calling your manager about this!" Mavis winced.

"But, sir, it's not my fault!"

"No excuses! Get back to the quarry ASAP so we can actually _accomplish_ something today!" He stomped off, leaving a very upset Mavis behind. She tried to think of something to say, but couldn't and simply resigned herself to reversing away to try to make up for lost time.

* * *

Mavis really tried to make up the time, but the world seemed to be against her! She rounded a bend to find group of cows on the line in front of her, nearby a broken fence that Terence the Tractor was trying to repair. She groaned loudly as she came to a stop.

"Fff...FIDDLESTICKS!" She screeched in anger. Terence grimaced as birds flew away from nearby trees.

* * *

When she finally arrived with the last stone train of the day, she had lost a lot of time, and was feeling miserable. She dropped off her train and immediately returned to the quarry, determined to not get chewed out by the foreman.

"How did the quarry end up in such a mess this morning? I knew I left it a little messy, but I'm sure it wasn't _that_ different!" She rounded a bend, approaching the quarry. There, she saw Toby and Henrietta picking up the workmen. The tram engine did not look pleased when he saw Mavis. She grimaced.

"Oh no." She guiltily sidled up alongside Toby, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Evening, Mavis." Mavis smiled sheepishly.

"Evening, Toby." She muttered quietly.

"You had an off day?"

"..."

"Mavis?"

"Yes, Toby. I had an _off_ day." Toby sighed.

"The manager wants to speak with you. I assume it's not good." Mavis looked away guiltily.

"I know..." Toby chuckled.

"Talk to me tomorrow, okay?" He rang his bell and puffed away.

"Night, Toby." She rolled towards her shed and reversed in, before seeing the quarry manager walk up. She winced, knowing what was coming.

"I know I was late, sir..." She sighed. The manager looked at her for a brief moment before looking down.

"Yes, Mavis."

"Sir, it won't happen again, I swear! Tomorrow, the quarry will be ship-shape! I-"

"Mavis, you can't handle the work on your own. We're getting a new, stronger engine to take the stone trains to the harbour while you stay here and keep the quarry on track." Mavis was horrified.

"B-but, sir! Those trains are the only chance I have to leave the quarry! Without them, I'm cooped up here all the time! You _can't_ take those away! Please!" Tears began to form in her eyes. The manager sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mavis. I truly am. Throughout tomorrow, other engines will be coming to the quarry to take the trains. I expect them to be ready for them." Tears streamed down Mavis' face, but she sniffled to be able to spit out a few words.

"Yes, sir." The manager walked sadly away, leaving Mavis with her own tears. As he disappeared from sight, Mavis sobbed into the empty quarry.

"Why? Why? I-" Suddenly, as Mavis stared out into the " disorganized" quarry, she began to see a familiar pattern. She inspected corners of the quarry from the comfort of the shed and the origins of the quarry's "disarray" hit her like a lorry. Her misery turned into pure rage as she stared out at the familiar quarry.

"'Talk to me, tomorrow', indeed!" She growled angrily, before going to sleep, still drowning in her own sadness and anger.

* * *

The following day, Toby was puffing up towards the quarry with Henrietta to drop off the workmen. He looked towards the quarry, expecting to see Mavis, but was surprised to see Stanley rounding the bend with stone trucks. The silver tank engine whistled as he passed Toby, leaving the tram confused.

"Huh?"

"Mavis must be ill. Easy, Toby." Henrietta soothed. Toby sighed, and continued on towards the quarry.

* * *

Toby arrived at the quarry, and spotted Mavis across the way shunting her trucks into the sidings. He spotted her angry glare as the workmen climbed out of Henrietta. The coach saw it too, and winced.

"Be gentle, Toby. You can be _very_ hard on her." Toby, however, was already puffing towards her, leaving Henrietta behind by the sheds. The tram rang his bell as he approached the shunter.

"Morning, Mavis! What's got you in such a state? I-" Toby was cut off by trucks surging past on the points in front of him,

"Go away." Mavis was angrier than Toby had ever seen her. Toby was taken aback.

"Pardon?"

"I was taken off Harwick Harbour trains until further notice because of yesterday's delays."

"Mavis, I'm so sorry, that's awful-"

"And do you want to know why I was delayed in the first place?"

"Mavis-"

"Because _you_ reorganized the quarry without telling me, and I couldn't find anything! I've been running this quarry for ages now! I don't need your help, so buzz off!" It was Toby's turn to get angry now.

"Excuse me? The quarry was a mess when I saw it! You wouldn't have been able to find anything anyway!"

"I had _my_ quarry organized exactly the way I wanted!"

"Your _organization_ wasn't working!"

"You're just cross because it's easier than your's ever was!"

"You need to learn to take criticism!"

"Why can't you ever let me do anything for myself, you...FUSSPOT!?" The quarry went silent as Toby stared at Mavis, his mouth open in astonishment. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he backed away from Mavis and onto a horrified Henrietta.

"Henrietta, we're leaving." His voice was icy cold. He rang his bell and puffed away from the quarry. Mavis watched him leave, and her anger bubbled into tears once again before she kept shunting the trucks into their sidings for other engines to collect.

"Fiddlesticks..." She swore under her breath.

* * *

Henrietta was very worried about Toby. He hadn't said a word since they left the quarry, but she could sense his anger. Finally, she decided to gently prod him.

"Toby, what did Mavis say to you?"

"You heard the whole thing, Henrietta. Don't pretend." Henrietta sighed.

"Clever, Toby." Toby looked down at the rails in front of him.

"Did I really get her in trouble from just trying to help her?" His faithful coach chuckled.

"I don't have _all_ the answers, Toby." Toby harrumphed.

"Neither do I, I guess. But she still has so much to learn, and-"

"Red signal, Toby!" Toby applied his brakes and rolled to a gentle stop at the signal, which was nearby a tree. He heard a tweeting and looked up to see a bird's nest on a branch above. A baby bird was perched on the nest's edge, and was clearly about to try flying. Toby smiled as the baby bird flapped its tiny wings and tried to jump from the nest. However, it didn't get very far before beginning to lose balance and fall. Toby gasped in horror, but a larger bird swooped down, caught the baby, and flew it back up to the nest. The mama bird chirped at the baby inside the nest, before turning it around with her feet and putting it back on the edge of the nest. The mama bird chirped, and the baby bird prepped to take flight again. This time, it leaped off the edge and managed to stay in the sky through furiously flapping its wings, and the mama bird chirped happily. Toby thought for a moment, before puffing onwards when the signal dropped.

* * *

Back at the quarry, Mavis had organized it just the way she wanted, and was working like clockwork. However, she was still upset with Toby, and as a result was bumping the trucks.

"Ouch! Mind our buffers!" One truck shouted as the others groaned. Mavis simply glared.

"Be quiet, you lot! We've important work to do!" Mavis rammed a few trucks under the hopper and stone tumbled into them. The trucks growled and began whispering to each other.

"Mavis' got a temper!"

" _That's_ not a good habit!"

"We should give her some... _intervention_!" They giggled and began making a plan to pay Mavis out.

* * *

Toby had made his way up to Knapford, where the Fat Controller was waiting in the platform for him.

"Toby! Just the engine I was looking for!"

"Hello, sir. How can I help?"

"I need you to take a train of stone trucks from Anopha Quarry up to Harwick Harbour, they're due for another load." Toby frowned; this would have meant he had to see Mavis, and that was sure to not go well. The Fat Controller noticed this.

"Don't worry, Toby, I'll make sure you're signaled through this time!" He joked. Toby chuckled.

"Of course, sir. Come on, Henrietta." He rang his bell and rolled away towards the quarry. Henrietta sighed, knowing Toby was nervous.

"It won't be so bad, Toby." Toby sighed and looked ahead.

"I hope."

* * *

Up at the quarry, Mavis had finally shunted the next train and was shunting another one when the trucks put their plan into action.

"Hold back, hold back!" They giggled, and slipped their brakes on. Mavis was not in the mood.

"I don't have time for this! GET MOVING!" She went back and rammed into the trucks. They remained still and laughed. However, one truck felt a creaking and looked down at his brakes. They had begun to experience a significant amount of strain. He grimaced as Mavis went back for another go.

"Uh, lads, maybe we should-GAH!" Disaster struck. Mavis barreled into the trucks once more, and the truck with the damaged brakes felt his brakes snap. He left the rails, derailing right across the points and falling onto his side. Mavis gasped as the dust settled.

"Oh no!" She cried. The junction was blocked. Before Mavis even had any time to react, she heard a bell and saw Toby pulling into the quarry.

"Mavis! Mavis! I-" He stopped and saw the accident and gasped.

"Mavis, what happened?" Mavis, however, was still upset with Toby, and simply ignored him as she began to try pulling the derailed truck back upright.

"Nothing I can't handle!" Toby watched as Mavis strained, and noticed that the derailed truck had gotten caught on one of the rails in the junction. As Mavis pulled, the truck had begun to pull the other trucks down with it. Toby gasped.

"Mavis, stop! You'll take the other trucks down too!" The stuck truck giggled as Mavis cut her engine off.

"Keep pulling, Mavis! You'll show that old _fusspot_!" Mavis tried to glare at Toby, but only saw genuine concern on his face. Her face softened, and tears began to appear in the corner of her eyes.

"Toby, I'm sorry. I _can't_ do this on my own. I just _can't_. I need your help. _Please._ I don't know what to do..." Her tears began streaming down her face.

"I guess _I'm_ the fusspot..." Toby rolled alongside her with a grave, determined expression.

"Mavis, take my train. You're faster than I am, you can make up the time. I'll get the quarry in shape..." Mavis sighed. Toby chuckled.

"...Just after you tell me where everything goes." She gasped in surprise. She sniffled up her tears, and let out a nervous smile.

"Put the next trains on the up line, empties on the right side, full trucks without a train on the sidings so they can be arranged into trains." Toby grinned.

"Certainly, Mavis. It's _your_ quarry." Mavis grinned as she reversed onto Toby's train. She was coupled up and honked determinedly.

"I won't let you down, Toby!" She pulled away with the trucks, surging away towards Harwick Harbour. She passed Henrietta, who Toby had left in the shed.

"Good luck, Mavis!" She called. Mavis sped away from the quarry, and Toby got to work by pulling the unhurt trucks away from the points.

* * *

Mavis rumbled along the line towards the harbour, determined to make up for lost time. She stormed up the line, tearing at the rails.

"I won't let Toby down!" The trucks groaned as she tore through a level crossing, causing Terence, who was waiting, to gasp in surprise.

* * *

Toby was shunting the trucks into their proper places according to Mavis, and was finding it surprisingly easy. He shunted some trucks under a hopper to have them loaded with stone.

"This system does work!" He muttered to himself.

* * *

The trucks had been caught off guard by Mavis' determination, and tried to hold her back. She wasn't having any of it however, and gave them a quick bump. They groaned and subsided to grumbling.

* * *

As Harvey lifted the derailed trucks back onto the line, Toby shunted them away back into the sidings. Henrietta, watching, grinned as she could see the organized quarry once more.

* * *

Mavis pulled into Harwick Harbour, where the foreman was waiting for her.

"Right on time! Well done, Mavis." Mavis panted, before grinning happily after looking at the clock.

* * *

Mavis returned to the quarry as soon as she could, and spotted Toby waiting for the workmen to board Henrietta. She rolled next to him, and came to a stop. She tried to find something to say, but Toby cut her off and spoke first.

"Mavis, I'm sorry."

"Toby, if anything I-"

"You're right. You've run this quarry for ages now, and despite a few hiccups here and there, you've done wonderfully. I haven't been letting you 'leave the nest and learn to fly', so to speak. So go off and fly on your own." Mavis chuckled.

"Toby, I-"

"However, I just want you to know that I'll be here to help you out whenever you need it. All you have to do is ask." Mavis smiled.

"Thank you, Toby. I'm sorry I called you a 'fusspot'." Toby smirked.

"You were right to say it; I _was_ being a fusspot." Mavis laughed, and Toby smiled back.

"I talked to the Quarry Manager, and he agreed to give you some of your trains to the harbour back." Mavis smiled.

"Thank you, Toby." Toby chuckled.

"It's no problem. Night, Mavis." He rang his bell and began rolling away. Mavis smiled as she watched him leave.

"Night, Toby." She then rolled away to her shed. She felt proud of herself. And as he puffed away, Toby was proud of her too.

* * *

However, on the other side of the island, the Fat Controller had scheduled an important meeting at the Dieselworks. Winston was rather nervous as he was parked outside the works shed.

"I don't like it here at night, sir. It's too scary-GAH!" Winston jumped as he heard a horn and Class 40 rumbled by. The Fat Controller chuckled as he walked toward the shed.

"Sorry, Winston. This meeting is very important." Winston simply grumbled.

"That's the problem, sir."

* * *

The Fat Controller entered the shed to find Mr. Renchmore, the Manager of the Dieselworks. He was looking proudly up at their latest project.

"Are his modifications complete?"

"Very nearly, sir; we're about to test the last of them now."

"Brilliant. Can I watch?"

"Certainly, sir." Mr. Renchmore tossed the Fat Controller a pair of protective glasses. He then looked up to the workmen tending to the engine on the hoist.

"Alright, you lot, turn him on! Show the boss what we do down here at the Dieselworks!" Den and Dart rolled onto the upper part of the Dieselworks interior, and shared a glance as the workmen turned on the engine's bright lamp, causing his cowcatchers to cast a shadow down onto the Fat Controller. He grinned.

"Well done, Felix. He's _perfect_."

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

Welcome to the first episode of _Tramway Tales!_ Unlike last year's _Sudrian Surprises_ , _Tramway Tales_ will tell a continuous story throughout four of its six stories, while the other two will be influenced by actions in said stories. The chief bread-and-butter of this DVD is the Toby-Mavis dynamic, and I was very glad to expand upon that in this episode, as the dynamic has stayed rather stagnant in the show since Season 3. I tried to find a happy medium between Mavis' current maturity and her S3 feistiness, and I like to think I found it. The Toby-Mavis father-daughter dynamic was a fun one to write, and this episode will definitely have an impact on them in future. As for the ending of this episode, see that story continued in _The Strongest Shunter,_ which will be two days from now. However, tomorrow will be a little story outside the narrative, so come back for _Byron on the Loose!_


	51. TT2 - Byron on the Loose!

**BYRON ON THE LOOSE!**

The construction site of Harwick Harbour is one of the busiest places on the Island of Sodor. Mavis takes trucks of stone from the quarry up to the harbour, where Gator or Ryan take the trucks away to be unloaded by Miss Jenny's Pack. Every member has an important role to play. Jack, Alfie, and Oliver unload the trucks of their stone and take it to various locations in the harbour, while Max and Monty take the construction waste away. One day, Jack and Alfie were making their way across the site to unload more stone when they suddenly heard a deep horn and a shout.

"Get out of the way!" The two diggers gasped and sped up immediately, getting out of the way just in time. They heard the disapproving voice of their near-attacker after the dust had settled.

"What were you two doing lallygagging around? I nearly flattened you!" Jack and Alfie looked away guiltily from the massive bulldozer.

"Sorry, Byron." Jack replied sheepishly.

"We really didn't hear you coming!" Alfie added. Byron sighed.

"Just be careful, alright?"

"We will, Byron!" The two raced away. Byron watched them leave sadly, before continuing carefully onwards.

* * *

Byron the Bulldozer is Miss Jenny's strongest machine. With his massive blade, he could move mountains if that's what was needed for a job; Harwick Harbour was certainly one of those jobs. Byron's job was to remove the excess debris from the newly dug piers and make sure new ground was even to build on as the harbour expanded. Byron could move piles upon piles upon piles of debris with ease, and create huge piles of earth for the others to load into Max and Monty. Byron had just finished pushing another huge mound of earth aside and was about to go for a rest.

"A job well done!" He chuckled. He then reversed away from the pile and went to take a quick rest where other vehicles were parked. One such vehicle was Miss Jenny's pride and joy, her Land Rover, which solitarily stood in the parking spot nearest to the one where Byron was trying to park. Byron was normally as careful as possible, but he had a new operator, a slovenly man who loved to eat whilst he worked, who frequently didn't watch what he was doing, and this was where it went wrong. Byron was rolling slowly into the parking spot when suddenly his operator lost his balance and slammed his foot on the gas.

"Whoa!" Byron shouted, and rolled forwards suddenly. His blade scraped the rover with a loud "screech" and he braked to a halt. Byron winced as he reversed to find a large scrape on the Land Rover's paint.

"Oh no."

* * *

Miss Jenny inspected the scrape, running her finger along the missing paint. Byron stood nearby, while his operator sat on his still caterpillar tracks, munching on a sandwich. Miss Jenny sighed.

"It's going to take a lot of money to get this repaired, Byron...Why weren't you watching where you were going?" Byron cringed and looked away.

"I _was,_ Miss Jenny, but-"

"And you! Stop eating on the job, and start paying attention!" Miss Jenny shouted at the operator. The man held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Sorry, boss. It won't happen again!" He said without any enthusiasm. Miss Jenny was about to speak again but a loud horn sounded out from the other side of the yard.

"Max, Monty! Leave that crane alone!" Miss Jenny sprinted across the yard, leaving Byron alone. His operator climbed back into the cab, and placed his lunch pail on the seat beside him.

"Come on, Byron, we have work to do!" He began munching on a sandwich again, getting crumbs all over Byron's floor and causing the bulldozer to glare back at him.

News of Byron's snafu with Miss Jenny's rover spread quickly around the site, and some of the others very quickly capitalized on the opportunity to tease.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't fender bender Byron!" Max laughed as he and Monty drove on either side of the slow-moving Byron.

"Are you compensating Miss Jenny for the damages?" Monty asked innocently, and the two laughed again.

"Shove off, you two." Byron growled. Max and Monty chuckled.

"And why should we?"

"You gonna scratch our paint?" Suddenly, they heard a horn, and Oliver rolled alongside.

"Alright, you two, move on. There's a pile of waste that Jack and Alfie are waiting to load for you!" Max and Monty shared a glance before grumbling away. Oliver looked to Byron before frowning.

"You alright, Byron? Heard about your little slip-up with Miss Jenny's rover." Byron sighed.

"It's my new operator. He's constantly eating and never paying attention. I've almost hit so many things just because he's not paying attention. They all think it's just because I'm dangerous." He whispered, as so his munching operator wouldn't hear. Oliver grunted gravely.

"I understand. Do you want me to speak to Miss Jenny about it?" Byron sighed.

"No, thank you, Oliver. I'll just have to be more careful." His driver honked the horn, and Byron drove away, trying to be as gentle as possible.

* * *

Days went by, and not much other mishap occurred. The land rover remained damaged in the car park, as Miss Jenny had begun taking the train up to Harwick until it was fixed. That particular day, she had finally called Butch the Breakdown Lorry up to Harwick to take her car to the mechanic.

"Morning, Miss Jenny!" Butch called as he reversed into place to lift up the rover with the hook. Miss Jenny grinned at the lorry.

"Spot on, Butch! You'd make a mother proud with your timing."

"I'm just doing my job, Miss Jenny." Butch said proudly, and his driver hooked his hook onto the rover's front bumper. As Butch raised the rover into the air, Byron was working nearby. His operator was eating again, this time with an open lunch pail in his lap.

"Pastrami on rye...delicious..." He grunted as he munched on a sandwich. Byron was angled right towards Butch and the rover, and guiltily watched as Butch lifted it into the air. Miss Jenny saw Byron approaching, as well as his operator eating, and flagged him down.

"Byron! Stop!" His operator scrambled to put the brake on, and managed to stop him. Miss Jenny furiously shouted up to the operator.

"What did I _just_ tell you? Stop eating and get down here!" The operator gulped.

"Sorry, ma'am! Down in a minute!" He slammed his sandwich in his lunchbox, and practically shot out of the cab, not noticing that he had left the box balancing precariously on the edge of the seat. Byron sighed as his operator scrambled down. Miss Jenny put her hands on her hips.

"What do I have to do to get you to stop eating at work?" She demanded.

"What's wrong with it? It's not hurtin' anyone!"

"You can cause a lot of damage if you don't start being careful!" Unbeknownst to the operator and Miss Jenny, the lunch pail had slowly begun to slide off Byron's seat. Byron felt it sliding and gasped.

"Miss Jenny! Something's slipping!"

"Not now, Byron! I-"

"But, Miss Jenny, it's going to fall onto my-" The heavy lunch pail fell from Byron's seat and slammed onto the gas pedal. His engine roared into life and Byron jerked forwards. Miss Jenny gasped as Byron began to move forward, beginning to tear up the earth in front of them. She pulled Byron's operator out of the way and leapt aside just as Byron tore by. The bulldozer cried out in horror.

"HELP!" He screamed, advancing towards Butch. Butch gasped, and sped out of the way, trying to drag Miss Jenny's Land Rover with him. However, the pile of debris Byron had begun to accumulate swept up the rover, adding it to the debris, and beginning to drag Butch along. Butch gasped and his engine roared as he tried to escape the debris.

"Whoa!" Butch's driver punched the gas, his line tightened, and the hook finally came free. Butch jerked to the side, just clear of Byron's cloud of destruction, but Byron continued onwards as everyone began to watch in horror. He gathered up all sorts of construction equipment in his wave of destruction, and his pile began to grow larger. He cried out in horror as he broke through a fence and began traveling through the fields, tearing up everything in his path. Every worker could only watch in horror as Byron disappeared into the distance, tearing up everything in sight. They suddenly heard a shout.

"What are you doing? We have to catch him! Come on, Butch!" Miss Jenny leapt into Butch's cab, and the tow truck looked rather nervous as he sped towards wherever Byron was off to.

* * *

Oliver the Great Western Engine was puffing along the Little Western with a goods train. He was having a pleasant enough journey, as was Toad the Brakevan, but Toad saw something that perplexed him.

"Mister Oliver, what's that cloud of dust?"

"Toad, you know I can't see what you do. Besides, I'm sure it's just that; a cloud of dust."

"But, it's moving, Mister Oliver...and it's quite big!" Toad watched a tree be pushed aside and fall over by the cloud of dust as it seemed to advance towards them. He gulped.

"Mister Oliver, I think we need to go faster!" Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, Toad, this pace is f-GAH!" Oliver slammed his brakes on as a telephone pole plummeted onto the line in front of him. Oliver could only watch in horror as it was swept up into the large pile of dirt and dust approaching, which just missed him. He heard Byron's horrified cry as the bulldozer tore by.

"HELP!" Oliver gaped as Byron disappeared.

"Mister Oliver, we have to raise the alarm!" Toad cried. Oliver could only stutter as he reversed towards the station to call for help.

* * *

Help had soon been called.

"End your destructive spree, criminal scum!" Sergeant Roy the Police Buggy jetted over the top of the hill, with Detective Miles Regan in the driver's seat. Roy's siren blared as he jetted around various cars, heading towards a section of road that Byron's onslaught was clearly approaching.

"We've got to stop him before he reaches a town! He's already caused this much damage, there's no telling how many people he could hurt!" Detective Regan shouted. Roy grinned determinedly, and swerved as Detective Regan turned his wheel. He braked defiantly in front of the oncoming wave.

"This is your last chance, criminal! Stand down, or be in the hands of the law!" The wave still approached. The two suddenly heard a faint voice over the rumble.

"I _can't_ stop!"

"What'd he say?" Roy asked, but neither had too much time to react. Both screamed as they were swept up by Byron's pile of dirt, Roy ending perched upon atop the pile of dirt.

"AGH!" Roy yelped, and Regan punched the gas to keep Roy atop the wave.

"HELP!" Roy wailed, as he and Regan were battered about by the debris outside.

* * *

Butch drove along the path Byron had created, and both he and Miss Jenny were horrified by the destruction they were greeted with. Cars lay everywhere, and their drivers had just stumbled out of the cars and were being helped by people in ambulances.

"Byron did all this?" Butch stammered, astounded. Miss Jenny could only put her head in her hands. Butch sped ahead along Byron's path, trying to catch up with the bulldozer.

* * *

Thomas was traveling along his branch line when he suddenly heard a rumbling.

"What's that, Thomas?" Annie asked.

"Sounds big." Clarabel mused. Thomas listened more carefully.

"I don't know...maybe it-" Thomas was cut off by dirt flooding the valley and the roar of Byron's engine sounding out, as well as the screaming of Roy.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Byron cried, and Thomas and his coaches screamed until they had come to a stop, just clear of Byron as he roared by. Thomas gaped.

"That was close." He gasped, before hearing another roar and Butch sped by as well.

"We've got you now, Byron!" He called, but he was no closer than before. Thomas gasped.

"Butch! You have to stop him before he reaches Knapford!" Butch gasped as Thomas began to disappear from his view.

"He's right, Miss Jenny!" Miss Jenny frowned and stuck her head out of the window to look back at Thomas.

"Thomas! Call an evacuation of Knapford! Get every person you can out of there!" Thomas whistled and raced back to the last station to raise the alarm.

* * *

"Philip, we need more coaches!"'

"Right, James!" Philip honked his horn and rolled away to get more. The station was flooded with coaches, and the entire town of Knapford was flooding into the trains. All other traffic had halted; this had become absolute priority. However, Byron was still approaching Knapford at a now breakneck pace. Terrified tears rolled down his face as he continued to rip up more dirt, fences and debris.

"Somebody, help! I need to stop!"

" _You_ need to stop?" Roy snapped, still surfing the wave through constantly reversing. Suddenly, both heard the roar of Butch's engine and the tow lorry sped towards Byron. Byron gasped.

"Butch! Help!" He cried in horror. Butch tried to speed up, but Miss Jenny suddenly opened his door and began climbing around.

"Miss Jenny? What are you doing?" He asked in alarm. Miss Jenny swung her leg over Butch's side and climbed into the rear part, by his hook.

"Butch, turn around and start reversing!"

"What?"

"Now!" Butch whipped around and began reversing as quickly as he could. Miss Jenny tugged on Butch's hook until she had a full line in her hands. Byron approached the town limits, and cried out in horror.

"Somebody stop me!" He cried. Miss Jenny threw Butch's line as hard as she could, and it managed to catch onto his cab.

"NOW!" Miss Jenny called, and Butch's driver shifted the stick into drive while the tow truck surged forwards. Byron felt the line stretching behind him, and he began to slow down. However, the town began to get closer.

"You're doing it! Keep going!" He called back. Roy screeched from atop the wave.

"You have to stop him! I can't go on much longer!"

"We're almost out of gas!" Detective Regan shouted out the window. Butch revved his engine and resisted more. Miss Jenny clutched Butch's side as Byron began to slow down. Byron's engine suddenly began to growl and sputter, and Byron felt himself rolling to a stop, just outside the town. Butch's face was bright red as he revved his engine, and Byron finally stopped. His "wave" did too, and Roy fell into the dirt due to the loss of support. The dust settled, leaving Byron sitting just outside the town wall, out of gas, with an exhausted Butch sitting behind him, and a battered but unhurt Roy and Detective Regan laid out out of the pile of dirt he had accumulated.

"Ouch." Roy groaned.

* * *

Police flooded the scene. No one in town had been harmed, but several drivers on the road in the path of Byron's rampage had been hit by the wave and had needed to be rushed to the hospital. Detective Regan did an inspection of Byron, who looked very guilty and somber.

"Talk about running out of petrol at a lucky time!" The detective remarked, pointing at the dial on Byron's dashboard that clearly indicated so. Miss Jenny sighed, and stared back along the path of destruction Byron had created. Byron grimaced for a brief moment, before his resolve shattered and tears began rolling down his face.

"Miss Jenny, I'm so sorry...I've caused so much pain...so much damage..." Miss Jenny looked up at her bulldozer sympathetically, before looking to the pile of destruction. Her battered land rover lay at the bottom of the pile. She looked at Byron again.

"Byron, it's not your fault. It's your dratted operator's, for not listening to me about being careful!" Byron sniffled.

"But, I-"

"Byron, we're going to have to fix all this. I know you'll want to make things right, and I'll make things right for you." Byron looked at Miss Jenny and cracked a small smile.

"Yes, Miss Jenny." Detective Regan walked over to Byron.

"We've got to move on from our pain, Byron. Trust me, I know." He rolled up the right sleeve of his trenchcoat, and revealed bandages wrapped around his bicep from where Slim Jim Langley had shot him in the arm. Byron gasped, but Detective Regan held up his other hand.

"All we have to do now is make things right."

* * *

Byron's operator was arrested for criminal negligence, and Miss Jenny consequently hired Byron a new, more careful operator. The Pack were put in charge of repairing all the damage Byron had caused, and they tried their best to put everything back to normal. Miss Jenny visited the drivers that had been hit by the wave in the hospital with flowers, Jack and Alfie dug Thomas' Branch Line out of the landslide Byron had caused, Oliver helped put up new telegraph poles on the Little Western, and Max and Monty took fallen trees away to the sawmill. Byron worked hardest of all, helping get the roads clear of debris so George could repave them. It was expensive and tedious, but with all the Pack working together, they could get the job done. Byron is still upset about the destruction he caused, but he understands that he is making things right, and one day the pain will go away.

"One day..." He said wistfully to himself, before returning to work, and honking his horn at a passing Roy.

 **THE END**

* * *

Day two is done! Writing the Pack again was fun, as was making Byron more distinct. He is larger than he was before, just to emphasize his power, although he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Byron is a fun character, although revamping him for the current series was a little difficult. I ultimately decided to up his size compared to the model series to emphasize his power and destructive potential. He has authority, but is concerned about hurting others. Byron's reign of terror has slowed down the construction of Harwick Harbour, but we won't be focusing on that next ep for the most part. No, come back tomorrow to get to meet the Set's second and final newbie; Clive the Tramway Diesel Engine! Come back tomorrow to read _The Strongest Shunter,_ and continue the saga!


	52. TT3 - The Strongest Shunter

**THE STRONGEST SHUNTER**

One morning, Mavis the Quarry Diesel was called to the Dieselworks for routine repairs.

"Morning, Mavis!" Dart called as she rolled into the works. Mavis grinned nervously.

"Good morning, Dart. I take it Den is running the quarry while I'm gone again?"

"Erm...not exactly, Mavis." To Mavis' surprise, Den rolled by with some flatbeds. Mavis raised an eyebrow.

"What? Who is it then?" Den and Dart shared a glance before they heard a familiar voice.

"Well, Mavis, I've sent a new engine up to the quarry." Mavis gasped as she saw the Fat Controller walk into the Dieselworks.

"Sir?"

"The Quarry Manager told me about your mishaps with staying to time recently, so I acquired a new engine to help you handle the extra work with the Harwick project. He's sure to figure things out at the quarry quick enough, and when you return from your repairs you two will split the work up of stone trains to the harbour." Mavis chuckled.

"Well, it will be nice to have someone around full-time to help out, but how is he going to manage now, sir? I could barely keep up with my schedule with all the heavy stone I had to take." The Fat Controller smiled.

"I don't think that will be a problem, Mavis. He's much bigger and stronger than you, and should be more than capable of carrying the load on his own until you return." Mavis grimaced.

"Bigger and stronger, sir?"

"Trust me, Mavis, he'll have everything under control." As the Fat Controller walked away, Mavis began to feel nervous.

"He's bigger than me? What if I get replaced? What if he gets put on _all_ the stone trains and I'm stuck in the quarry all day?"

"Quit your worryin', Mavis, you won't be replaced." Dart chuckled as he shunted some parts into a different part of the works. Den chuckled.

"Dart's, erm, right, Mavis. You're far too useful!" Mavis looked out into the sunlight, feeling very unsure of herself.

* * *

Toby was making his way along the branch line with his faithful coach Henrietta.

"We're making good time, Toby!" She called as Toby approached the bend.

"Of course, Henrietta, I-" Suddenly, a blinding light shined in Toby's eyes from around the corner and the tram engine slammed his brakes on.

"Whoa!" Suddenly, he heard another engine braking, and soon enough the sound of any movement was gone. Toby, squinting, suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the source of the light.

"Wow, I've never seen an engine stop for me before! They're so nice on this island!" Toby growled.

"Turn your lamp off!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"Pardon?"

"Turn your _lamp_ off!"

"Oh, sorry!" Toby blinked furiously as his world returned to normal colors, and he was finally able to clearly see the other engine. Toby saw a blue-grey, six-wheeled diesel standing on the other line coupled to some stone trucks. He had a grey bonnet, and bright red siderods. Most striking to Toby, however, were his modifications. He had a large headlamp perched upon the front of his bonnet, which had been shined into Toby's eyes earlier, and cowcatchers in both the front and back. He was much larger than Mavis, but Toby was too annoyed to really notice.

"What's the big idea of parading around with your lamp on?" He demanded. The new diesel winced.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was on!" He blushed nervously. Toby sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You're new around here, then?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Just call me Toby, erm..."

"Clive. My name's Clive. I'm here to help out Mavis...whoever that is." Toby didn't _dislike_ Clive, but his clear carelessness was making him uneasy. He watched as Clive's sight focused on a passing butterfly.

"Well, Clive, I hope you enjoy your work on the island." Clive seemed to just be staring off into space. Toby rang his bell.

"Clive?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you, Toby!" He honked his deep horn and rolled away with his long line of stone trucks. Toby watched him leave with concern. Henrietta, however, had a much warmer attitude towards him.

"Well, he seemed nice!" She remarked as Clive rolled out of sight.

"He seems very unfocused...Mavis will need to keep an eye on him." Toby replied, and rolled away.

* * *

Mavis had experienced minor damage from all her exertion, and as a result had to have some minors repairs done.

"Hurry up, Den! I have to get back to the quarry as soon as possible!" She called down to Den from the hoist. Den chuckled.

"Easy does it, Mavis! The quarry's in, um, good buffers!" He replied. Dart chuckled as he rolled into the works.

"I've 'eard 'e's been getting stone up to the 'arbour faster than ever!" Mavis grimaced.

* * *

Mavis' repairs were complete, and she nervously rolled back up to the quarry. All the way there, she couldn't help thinking about the newcomer, and his alleged strength and reliability.

"Oh dear..." She muttered as she crossed the junction leading up the quarry.

* * *

When she arrived, she was surprised to find the quarry in complete disarray.

"How on earth did this place become such a mess?" She asked, bewildered and not expecting an answer. She suddenly heard a horn and saw the newcomer round the bend, carrying a line of stone trucks longer than she had ever seen. He appeared to be watching the clouds roll by, and didn't see that he was approaching another long line of trucks. Mavis gasped and honked her horn loudly.

"Look out!" She cried. Clive snapped out of his trance and slammed his brakes on, banging into the line in front of him. Mavis winced as the dust settled and the trucks' cackles echoed around the quarry. To her surprise, however, Clive was smiling.

"Oh, hello! Do you know where Mavis is? Manager said to expect her back today!" Mavis raised an eyebrow at the grinning diesel.

"You just found her." She said cautiously. Clive's smile only grew wider.

"Brilliant! Well, can't stop now, we've got to get to work!" He began pushing on the line of trucks in front of him, in addition to trying to pull the one he already had. Mavis raised an eyebrow as he appeared to not be moving.

"Do you want my h-" Suddenly, Clive's train jerked forwards, and every truck he had collected was moving along at a pace that made it look easy. Mavis could only watch in astounded silence as Clive continued moving along.

"Right. I'll just get my train...together...then." She uneasily moved away as she heard the sound of Clive's trucks slamming into the buffers.

"Ow!"

* * *

Mavis was happy to be back at work, but whenever she tried to help...

"Don't worry, I've got it!" Clive called as he raced across the points, banging into the trucks that Mavis had been trying to shunt. The trucks screamed as Clive pushed them away.

"NO!" They groaned. They very quickly had grown to dislike how rough he was. Mavis sighed. Suddenly, the Quarry Manager walked up.

"Mavis, I need you to take a train of stone trucks down to the harbour." Mavis very quickly looked around to make sure Clive was nowhere in sight. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir!" She backed onto a line of stone trucks before rolling away up to the harbour.

* * *

Mavis normally liked the run up to Harwick Harbour and nothing seemed to be getting in her way, but she was nonetheless desperate to keep time.

"I have to do better than Clive!" She panted, dragging the trucks behind her as she approached the harbour.

Mavis finally arrived at the harbour, exhausted, and left her trucks to be shunted away. As she refueled on a siding, she looked at the clock and grinned.

"How was I for time, Ryan?" She asked the passing purple engine. Ryan smiled.

"Right on time, Mavis!" Mavis sighed happily, but Ryan continued to speak.

"Makes a bit of a change, since Clive's always early!" He remarked. Mavis groaned nervously as Ryan steamed innocently away.

"Fiddlesticks..." Mavis sat on the siding refueling, not noticing someone oiling up alongside.

"So you've met Clive, then?" Mavis jumped in surprise, as her eyes snapped to the other line and found Diesel idling by, smirking.

"Oh, hello, Diesel." She looked away for a moment. Diesel took the opportunity to pounce.

"He's very strong, isn't he?" He remarked, his smirk growing wider. Mavis didn't notice.

"And fast, and reliable. It's like he's _Mr. Perfect_." She looked down, dejected, before sighing.

"I think he's going to replace me. He seems perfectly content to run the quarry by himself, even if it is a total mess." Diesel chuckled darkly; he had a plan.

"Well, Mavis, the only way to prove your superiority is to prove that you're stronger than him." Mavis raised an eyebrow.

"But I'm not!"

" _I_ know that, and _you_ know that, but _he_ doesn't have to know that! Just one long train up to the harbour in record time and you'll be golden! You'll be the Strongest Shunter, and Clive'll be none the wiser!" Mavis began to smile and her eyes lit up.

"Yes! I just have to pull one long train! Thank you, Diesel!" Mavis rolled away back to the quarry, excited, leaving a chuckling Diesel behind.

"Don't mention it!" He called, before laughing in his sinister way.

"Clive's going to get an earful from the Fat Controller! _Nobody_ bumps Diesel because he was watching a 'pretty bird'!" He cackled, causing a nearby Gator and Jack to exchange confused looks.

* * *

Mavis returned to the quarry, and watched Clive begin to move a long line of trucks with ease. She uneasily idled alongside the larger diesel, before screwing her courage to the sticking place and beginning to enact her plan.

"Clive?"

"Oh, hello, Mavis!" He beamed happily. Mavis looked back at the trucks Clive was shunting.

"Are those due at the harbour?"

"Yes, actually! Or at least, I think, anyway..." He yawned idly as a few leaves blew by in a gust of wind.

"You look so tired! Maybe _I_ should take them to give you a rest!"

"Okay!" Clive rolled away, leaving Mavis very confused.

"Huh. I thought that would be more difficult." She chuckled, and began backing down onto the grumbling trucks. As Mavis prepped herself to pull the long, heavy train, she didn't hear the trucks chattering amongst themselves.

"My buffers ache!"

"My brakes are shot!"

"Clive is too rough with us!"

"He never pays attention and he bumps us!"

"Let's get him back!"

"But, he's not here?"

"Oh."

"..."

"I've got an idea!"

"What?"

"Let's pay Mavis out _instead._ " The trucks sniggered, and began making plans of their own. Mavis had been coupled to the trucks, and honked her horn determinedly.

"Alright! Next stop, Harwick Harbour!" She strained and began to turn bright red as her wheels slowly but surely began to turn, dragging the heavy line of scheming trucks behind her. Clive watched her leave, none the wiser.

* * *

Mavis rumbled along the branch line, pounding the rails furiously while dragging the long line of trucks behind her. She wasn't going very fast, as she found out as she rolled through a crossing.

"Hurry up, slowcoach! We've work to do!" George the Steamroller called as Mavis' megatrain rumbled over the crossing.

"I'm going...puff...as fast as I can!" She replied, eliciting only growls from the steamroller. Finally, Mavis approached the hill outside Bluff's Cove junction, and began to climb it. As she panted, gasping for air with every breath, the trucks began to giggle and play their tricks.

"Hold back! Hold back!" They called. Mavis gasped as she felt herself begin to stick.

"No! Don't you dare!" She cried. One truck cackled.

"Oh, we dare!" Mavis felt herself began to roll down the hill and growled as her wheels spun and spun. However, the trucks managed to win, and she was stuck.

"Fiddlesticks!" She cried. Her driver stuck his head out of the window.

"We'll have to have another go." Mavis tried to start off again, but the train of trucks, who would have keeled over if they could from laughter, was far too heavy for her. She was stranded.

"Help!" She cried, but no one was around to hear her.

* * *

Clive was making his way along the line with a load of empties, as more were needed at the harbour. He was admiring the trees and, as usual, was not really looking where he was going. This is why it came as a nasty surprise when he found himself buffer-to-buffer with a brakevan in the middle of his line and a very angry guard shouting down his bonnet.

"Watch where you're going, you brute! You could have crushed me!" He shouted. Clive winced.

"Sorry, sir! Sorry!" He began to back away before stopping.

"Wait...what are you doing stopped in the middle of the line?" The guard sighed.

"Mavis lost her footing on the hill and can't get enough momentum to start up again." Clive thought for a moment, before smiling.

"I could help! Let me drop off my trucks and I'll run around the front!" The guard shrugged.

"If it gets this train there on time it makes no difference to me!" Clive beamed and was uncoupled from his trucks before reversing to find some points.

* * *

Mavis had felt the bump at the rear of her train, but she was still surprised to see Clive rolling alongside her and then switching tracks in front of her.

"Hello, Mavis!" He called as he began reversing towards her. Mavis raised an eyebrow as Clive was coupled up to her.

"Clive, what are you doing here?"

"I've come to help! Now come on, let's get going!" Clive honked and tried to roll away, but Mavis looked back and gasped.

"Clive!" The larger shunter stopped.

"Yes?"

"We've left your empties behind!" Clive looked back and sure enough, his empty trucks were a considerable distance away from the back of the train. He winced.

"Whoops. Sorry." He and Mavis reversed the train back to where the empty trucks rested, and the guard coupled them up. Clive looked down sadly.

"I'm sorry, Mavis. I'm not really good at paying attention. It's why I bump into things all the time. I don't know how everyone manages to stay so focused when I constantly see interesting things! The world is an interesting place!" Mavis was confused for a moment, before chuckling, and then laughing. Clive raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"I've never heard someone put it like that before! It's quite beautiful actually." Clive blushed.

"Thanks, I guess." Mavis smiled.

"Tell you what, we'll take our train to the harbour together. Whenever I start lagging behind, you help me pull harder. Whenever you get distracted, I help you pay attention. Deal?" Clive smiled.

"Deal." Mavis smiled.

"Let's get going then!" Clive honked his horn, and the alliance set off.

* * *

Mavis and Clive pulled their train up to the harbour together, and made up well for lost time. Whenever Mavis found it hard to pull, Clive helped her by taking a bit of the weight. Whenever Clive got distracted by a passing bird or butterfly, Mavis gave him a quick blast of her horn to restore his focus. The two arrived at the harbour, where the foreman was waiting for them.

"Pleased to see you two getting along!" He remarked, and the newfound friends grinned.

* * *

That night at the quarry, Mavis and Clive were chatting up a storm in the shed.

"...and then Toby helped me reorganize the quarry and we were back on schedule in no time!" Mavis finished. Clive beamed.

"Wow! That's amazing, Mavis! I met Toby when I first arrived, but I don't think I made the best impression..." Mavis chuckled.

"He takes a while to warm up to new engines. Give it time." A brief period of silence followed this. Mavis broke it.

"You know, Clive, Diesel told me that if I pulled all those trucks, then I would be the 'Strongest Shunter'. I think that we're _both_ the Strongest Shunter when we work as a team." No response. Clive was admiring the beauty of the full moon above.

"Clive?"

"Yes? Sorry." Mavis chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Nothing." She closed her eyes and went to sleep. Clive could be a handful, but then, so could she. If Toby could do it, it couldn't be that difficult, right?

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

And now we have met Clive! He's a very fun character to work with because of his short attention span and whatnot and I look forward to exploring his dynamics with Toby and Mavis as we move further through this! He's a bit like Paxton on steroids, but I hope he's distinct enough to feel like his own character. Giving Diesel another antagonist role this set has been a lot of fun, and although he doesn't quite get his comeuppance again, I hoped to give him a role like in Season 3 where he came in, stirred up trouble, and left. Come back tomorrow for the saga's next episode, _Saturday Night Clive,_ and prepare for a couple of chuckles from resident comedian Charlie!


	53. TT4 - Saturday Night Clive

**SATURDAY NIGHT CLIVE**

Clive is a new diesel who helps Mavis run the quarry, and is one of the strongest diesel shunters on the whole island of Sodor.

"Good morning, Mavis!" He called to Mavis as he pushed a long line of stone trucks onto a siding.

"Morning, Clive!" She called back as she moved some trucks under the hopper. Clive's strength serves him well, but he has a very short attention span. As a result...

"Look out!" Mavis called, and winced at the sound of a truck hitting the buffers, and derailing onto the ballast. Clive blushed.

"Sorry." It can sometimes get him into trouble.

* * *

One day, Mavis was working at the quarry alone when she heard a familiar bell and looked to the entrance of the quarry to see a very dusty Toby and Henrietta coming in to drop off the workmen. Toby did not look amused.

"What's up with you, Toby?" Mavis asked. Toby coughed and clouds of dust shook from his frames.

"Clive was going over the speed limit again." He muttered, deadpan. Slowly, his face began to contort into a scowl.

"Easy, Toby." Henrietta soothed.

"No, Henrietta! He just doesn't pay attention! To anything! I'm sick of him passing signals, and misplacing trucks, and just being an utter nuisance! Mavis managed the quarry fine without him!" Mavis sighed.

"Toby, I know he doesn't have the _best_ focus, but he's getting better! Besides, he hasn't caused anything too serious."

"Yet." Toby muttered. Mavis rolled her eyes.

"Clive is a fine engine, Toby. You're just being ridiculous." Toby sighed and calmed himself down.

"Where is Clive, Mavis? I don't see him anywhere!" Henrietta asked, looking around as much of the quarry as she could.

"Manager sent him up to the junction to fetch some new machinery. He should be back soon." She then backed up to fill up some trucks at the hopper. Toby rang his bell, and rolled away.

"If he doesn't have an accident first." He muttered.

* * *

Clive marveled at the towering roof of the big station as he pulled into a platform. People were chattering, birds chirped, and trains were dismissed as his eyes darted around the exciting new place.

"Wow." He marveled. Suddenly, he heard an argument from across the station.

"Where are my coaches? The express _cannot_ be kept waiting!"

"Easy, Gordon, one of the shunters will be up with it soon!" Gordon grunted in response to Emily's reply.

"They should have been up here ages ago!" Clive was fascinated by the conversation, and decided to join them.

"Excuse me, what are you waiting for?" He asked. Gordon scoffed.

"And who, may I ask, are you?"

"Don't be so rude! That's the new engine, the one from up at the quarry!" Emily snapped. Clive smiled.

"The clumsy one?" He frowned again. Emily groaned, but was cut off by the sound of Stanley's whistle. The silver tank engine rolled in with both Gordon's express coaches and Emily's suburbans.

"Sorry I'm late, you two! There was no one else around even though _Charlie_ was supposed to be on duty, so I had to find both of your trains myself!" He panted. Gordon grumbled dreadfully as his coaches were coupled up and Stanley went around to give Emily her's.

"Thank you, Stanley, but that Charlie is a piece of work! Never around to do his shunting, but when he is, he's always telling his _awful_ jokes." Stanley chuckled.

"Don't I know it, Gordon." Clive cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, but do you have my trucks?" Stanley saw Clive and groaned.

"Clive, right?"

"Yeah!"

"I'm sorry, I left your trucks in the yard! I could go and get them if you'd like!" Clive pondered for a moment.

"I think I'll get them myself, thank you, Stanley." Stanley whistled and rolled away to continue his work upon hearing the arrival of another engine. Clive smiled, but then looked confused. Emily chuckled.

"Follow the points, you'll be there in no time." Clive smiled back, and began cautiously following the points towards the shunting yards.

* * *

When Clive arrived in the Shunting Yards, he found his trucks alongside several other lines in the yard. After being coupled up, he absentmindedly began to pull them away, but snapped out of his trance when he heard the trucks screaming.

"What? What did I do?" One truck hissed.

"Shush! We're trying to watch the show!"

"Show?" Suddenly, Clive heard a voice from the other side of the trucks.

"Who do you think you are making such a ruckus? That's _my_ job!" Charlie had created an audience of trucks for himself as he presented his newest standup, and they were digging his new routine.

"Back to shunting, why do the big engines constantly demean us for not being as strong as them, but they never shunt? Shunting is hard work! The work I do covers about as much mileage as Gordon's express! Did I say express? I meant his giant nose!" The trucks cackled. Clive found himself chuckling. Suddenly, a whistle and horn sounded out.

"Show's over, Charlie!" Stanley and Stafford rolled on either side of Charlie and shunted his trucks away. Charlie groaned.

"Come on! That was a great crowd!" Stanley sighed.

"Your crowd is our backlog! Just please _try_ to do your job!" Stanley called. Charlie grumbled, and began puffing away. Clive gasped and reversed to follow him, quickly catching up on the alongside line.

"Excuse me! You're really funny!" He called to Charlie, who looked briefly surprised before grinning.

"I know." He chuckled. He eyed Clive up and down before chuckling.

"Haven't seen you in this venue before. You new?" Clive, however, had already been distracted by a passing train. Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"Buddy? Yoo-hoo!" Clive snapped out of his trance.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Charlie!" Charlie chucked at the larger diesel.

"You're funny, buddy. Not _F Double C_ levels of funny, but it's a start. I could help you with a routine!" Charlie laughed. Clive, however, was confused.

"What's 'F Double C'?" Charlie stared at Clive like he had two heads.

"The Ffarquhar Comedy Club? One of the most prestigious comedy venues on the Island of Sodor! Admittedly not a wide pool of options there, but it's still a great place! So many of the greats did their routines there!" His eyes lit up like stars. Clive raised an eyebrow.

"Have _you_ ever performed there?" He asked. Charlie's face fell, before he chuckled.

"I wish. Nah, they wouldn't bring a crowd outside just to watch me perform. Sometimes, I like to stand on the siding nearby the club at night and just listen to all the comics perform, and how much the crowd loves them..." He stared off in bliss, but then sighed.

"Probably won't get much of an opportunity to, anyway..." Clive would have normally been rather distracted, but Charlie seemed like he was sad, and the diesel wasn't one to ignore a friend in need.

"Why not?"

"The club's going under. Not enough fresh talent." Charlie chuckled sadly. Clive felt sorry for Charlie, and decided to try to help him out.

"Maybe if I spoke to the Fat Controller, he could talk to the club owner!" He smiled. Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"You really think that'll help?" Clive grinned.

"It's worth a shot!" He honked his horn and rolled away back to the quarry with his trucks. Charlie watched him leave before chuckling to himself.

"A class act!" He remarked.

* * *

Later that day, The Fat Controller called the engines of Thomas' Branch Line to the big station for an important meeting.

"Ffarquhar is getting a new signalman, so you all have to be extra careful around that station to let him know you are there. Blow your whistles, toot your horns, anything to let him know you're coming!"

"Yes, sir!" The engines replied. Toby looked to the other line and saw Clive staring off into space.

"Clive! Pay attention!" He hissed. Clive snapped out of his trance. He had been too busy thinking about how to help Charlie, and he hadn't been paying attention. It was going to get him in trouble.

* * *

Later that day, Clive had taken some stone up to Harwick Harbour when the Foreman walked up to him.

"Clive, can you take these trucks back to the quarry? They've been sitting in the sidings for days, we don't need them taking up space." He gestured to some extra stone trucks on a siding. They looked rather comfortable, but Clive moved towards them nonetheless.

"Sure thing, sir!" Clive honked his horn and bumped into the trucks, who screamed upon being woken up.

"Hey!"

"We were having a good nap!" Clive, however wasn't paying attention; he was too busy thinking about Charlie. The trucks grumbled, before smirking and giggling to each other as Clive pulled them away.

"Time we teach him a lesson! No Mavis to get in the way this time!" They laughed and began coming up with a plan, leaving Clive none the wiser.

Clive rumbled along the line, dragging the heavy trucks behind him with ease. His mind buzzed with different thoughts about how to help Charlie.

"How do I word it? Oh, dear..." He rumbled past a sign, which read "All Trains Must Make Themselves Known". Clive, of course, hadn't seen it.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Ffarquhar station, Percy was moving some trucks out of the siding adjacent to the Ffarquhar Comedy Club. The line was due to switch when the signalman heard Clive's horn. But he hadn't, and as a result, the points were still set into the siding. It came as a nasty surprise to the new signalman when he saw Clive speed past the signalbox.

"Look out! You're going over the speed limit!" He called out the window. Clive still wasn't paying attention, and was headed straight for the points! Toby was pulling into the station and saw Clive headed for disaster. He rang his bell as loudly as he could.

"Clive! Stop!" Clive snapped out of his trance just as he swerved into the siding. He could see the club across the road dead ahead.

"Oh no!" He tried to stop, but the silly trucks surged against him.

"On! On!" Clive burst through the buffers and began screeching through the ballast towards the club.

* * *

The owner of the Ffarquhar Comedy Club walked into his establishment to prepare for the evening ahead. He stared at the dusty seats, and the dimly lit stage, before walking over to the bar and pouring himself a stiff drink. He was about to take a sip before he heard a splintering crash, and turned around to see that Clive had burst through the wall and his stage, and had mangled his cowcatchers and cracked his lamp. Clive coughed as the dust settled, before looking worriedly at the club owner. He calmly lifted his glass and toasted Clive.

"It's a living!" He downed it in one gulp.

* * *

Cranes were brought to clean up the mess, and Thomas managed to haul Clive free of the wrecked comedy club. By now, the club owner had begun to grow panicked at the property damage.

"My livelihood! Ruined!" He wailed, as another piece of wood from the ceiling fell across the large hole Clive had created. Clive winced in guilt. Suddenly, he heard a horn and saw the Fat Controller approaching onboard Winston. He did not look pleased.

"Clive! What is the meaning of this? I said explicitly that you had to warn the signalman you were approaching! What could have _possibly_ been distracting you?" Clive looked away in guilt.

"Well, sir, I-" He was interrupted by the sound of a shrill whistle. Charlie had arrived, and stared at the wrecked comedy club in horror and despair.

"Charlie, now is not the time for a joke!" Thomas scolded. Charlie, however, was not in the mood for jokes. He looked at the demolished club, at a loss for words, before tears began streaming down his face.

"No...NO! NO!" He wailed. As the comedian began to sob uncontrollably, Clive looked back at the Fat Controller.

"Charlie mentioned how he always wanted to perform at that club, sir, and I was trying to think of a way to help him. I've been thinking of it all day, sir, and I wasn't listening during the meeting, sir. I'm sorry, sir." Clive looked down in guilt, but the Fat Controller only scratched his chin in thought. He turned around and looked at the building, before looking at the siding which Clive had derailed on. He then walked over to the comedy club owner.

"Mr. Hartford, I think I have a suggestion of how to not only fix your club, but to make it more successful than ever..." The club owner turned to him in surprise, and the two men began talking as Clive was pulled away from the accident, past an incredibly distraught Charlie. He also passed Toby, who was giving him a very nasty glare.

* * *

On a cool evening a few weeks later, Clive returned from the works, good as new. As he went along the line back towards the quarry, he heard chatter among the engines...

"Uh oh, it's Clive! I don't want him to smash into me!" Percy peeped as Clive passed him on the up-line, Clive tried to pay attention to other things, but for once he could only pay attention to the judgmental eyes of the other engines. He especially felt Toby's dirty look as the tram engine passed by.

"Far too dangerous..." Toby muttered as Clive passed by. Henrietta, however, could only watch Clive leave with pity.

* * *

When Clive arrived at Ffarquhar, he noticed a familiar purple tank engine waiting on the siding where he had crashed. Clive winced.

"Oh no, he's sure to be upset with me...but I _need_ to apologize." Clive honked his horn and the points were switched to allow him to roll alongside Charlie.

"Charlie, I'm so so sorry that I ruined your dreams and I was trying to help and-"

"Ruined them? Clive, you helped me _achieve_ my dreams!" To Clive's surprise, Charlie was grinning with glee. He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Charlie chuckled.

"After your run-in with the club, the owner was getting ready to shut it down for good. However, the Fat Controller decided to use _me_ as a way to help get the club fixed! They added an extension to the club so I can puff in and do my set! The crowds _love_ me! I'm back every week! And I have you to thank for that, Clive. Most engines wouldn't even give me the time of day, but you're a good egg." Clive beamed in surprise.

"Wow!" Charlie laughed.

"Why don't you stick around? I'm doing my set in about 2 minutes and you can hear from out here! I'm quite good at projecting!" Clive frowned briefly; he didn't know if he could pay attention the whole time, but he wanted to support his friend.

"Sure, Charlie! I'd love to!" He replied. Suddenly, the voice of the club owner echoed through the curtains at the end of the siding leading into the club.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, everyone's favorite little scamp on rails, you keep asking him back here...Charlie!" Charlie grinned.

"That's my cue!" Charlie rolled through the curtains into the club, to a crowd of comedy patrons.

"Thank you, Mr. Hartford! As he said, I'm Charlie, and unlike most rail travel on this island, I actually managed to get here on time!" The audience laughed, but no one was laughing harder than Clive. Throughout Charlie's entire set, Clive was completely raptured. He laughed at every joke, snorted at every zinger, and guffawed at every punchline. Even if he had to prove himself, it helps to have a happy accident to keep his mind off things.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

Four out of six! Clive actually got to lead the episode this time, and I loved cramming bits of humor into this episode with the Mr. Hartford, the club owner, and his bit with the drink and squeezing in parts of Charlie's standup. Charlie is a different comedian stylistically than the pun-master of old, and is now based on observational comedy, a trend that will continue into his future appearances. Charlie is a bit of a gadfly, which makes him a fun match with the innocent Clive. It's a shorter outing than other episodes this set, but I think I told the story I wanted to tell in a good amount of time. Come back tomorrow for the end of the Clive saga, _Stampede!_


	54. TT5 - Stampede!

**STAMPEDE!**

Toby the Tram Engine has worked on the Island of Sodor for many years, and as a result he and his coach, Henrietta, know a lot of engines on the island. Toby is friendly with most of them.

"Hello, Toby!" Thomas called as he passed Toby rolling up the line.

"Hello, Toby! Hi, Henrietta!" Annie and Clarabel called from behind him. Toby rang his bell in response.

"Hello!" Henrietta called from behind him. Despite Toby's friendly relationship with most of the engines on Sodor, there is one he is not very fond of; Clive, the new diesel who helps Mavis at the quarry. Clive has a very short attention span, and as a result he can frequently be very clumsy.

"Hey, Toby!" Clive called as he passed, but the tram engine simply ignored him. He hadn't been very fond of Clive since he shined his lamp in his eyes, and the fact that he demolished the Ffarquhar Comedy Club hadn't helped things. Henrietta, however, didn't mind Clive at all.

"Hello, Clive!" She called, but Clive was too far away to hear her, feeling rather upset. She frowned and sighed.

* * *

One morning, Toby and Henrietta arrived at the quarry to drop off the workmen for the day, when Henrietta noticed, to her surprise, that Clive was shunting trucks on the other side of the quarry. Toby had noticed too, but didn't want to make conversation. Henrietta, however, didn't care what Toby thought.

"Morning, Clive! We don't see you at this time often!" She called. Clive looked up, saw Henrietta, and smiled eagerly.

"Good morning, Henrietta!" He grinned. His trucks flew forward and rammed into the buffers at the end of the line.

"Look sharp!" Toby called sternly. Clive winced.

"Whoops." Henrietta quickly got back on task.

"So why are you hanging around this morning?" She asked. Clive chuckled.

"It's a quiet day for stone orders today, so I let Mavis take my morning train, since she likes getting out of the quarry so much." Toby's scowl softened.

"That's very kind of you." Henrietta remarked. Clive smiled back, but the coach's plan was not complete.

"So are you in the quarry all day then?" She asked innocently. Clive thought.

"I guess so."

"Why don't you take me out for the day and Toby does your work here?" Henrietta proposed. Toby spluttered.

"Henrietta, he-"

"-is perfectly capable of handling it, aren't you, Clive?" Clive smiled obliviously. He had caught sight of a rather funny looking cloud above him. Henrietta cleared her throat and Clive snapped out of it.

"Yes, I can handle it!" He replied. Toby was about to respond, but he could sense Henrietta smirking and raising an eyebrow from behind him. He sighed and scowled.

"Fine. If you're alright with it, Clive." He eyed Clive suspiciously, who grinned nervously.

"That's the spirit!" Henrietta chortled, as she was uncoupled. After the Fat Controller and Quarry Manager had okayed it, Toby and Clive each switched tracks, Clive backing down onto Henrietta. He took extra care to be nice and slow as he was coupled to her, as Toby was giving him an intense glare from behind the trucks. Clive slowly began rolling away from the quarry, with Henrietta behind him.

"Take care, Toby!" Henrietta called. Toby could only nervously watch the diesel leave with his faithful coach.

* * *

Clive and Henrietta made their way up the line to the town of Ulfstead. Clive was excited by all the new scenery, but still felt bad about Toby. Henrietta could feel Clive's unease.

"Are you alright, Clive?" She asked. Clive sighed.

"I just don't think Toby likes me very much, Henrietta." Henrietta sighed.

"Oh, Clive. Toby doesn't dislike you, he just…is _worried_ about you." She put delicately. Clive raised an eyebrow.

"Worried?" Henrietta thought for a moment, before replying.

"He thinks that you can easily get into trouble, that's all! All you have to do is keep working safely and Toby will eventually come around. Mavis had to go through the same thing." Clive grimaced.

"I know. I just wish I would stop messing up in front of him." Clive passed a field, where Terence the Tractor normally worked. However, he was surprised to see the tractor on the other side, on the tramway back up the line, parked facing the road.

"I wonder what he's up to?" He thought, as he and Henrietta moved onwards.

* * *

Terence was currently fed up. He was ploughing the field nearby the cow pasture, and was rather nervous to see George the Steamroller repaving the road nearby both, which also happened to be nearby the railway. However, there was no barrier, making road vehicles have to stay in a very narrow proximity to stay on the road.

"Look sharp, George! The road's narrow, you know!" George snorted.

"Shove off, farm boy! Let me do my job, and I'll let you do yours!" He approached the fence of the cow pasture, but quickly swerved out of the way. Terence glared at him.

"Would you stop rocking about? You're frightening the cows!" George smirked and swerved away from the fence again. Terence snarled as the cows mooed in fright.

"You just did that to be mean!" George laughed.

"They're just stupid animals, what harm could they be?" Terence snorted and returned to work, while George did the same. However, neither of them knew the trouble that could be caused.

* * *

Clive arrived at Ulfstead with Henrietta in tow, and was impressed by the bustling town.

"Wow! This is nothing like the quarry!" He gasped.

"You don't say!" Bertie the Bus mused nearby, before puttering away from the town's bus stop with a full load of passengers. Clive's passengers boarded Henrietta, and the coach smiled.

"Thank you for the smooth ride, Clive." Clive blushed.

"Thanks, Henrietta. But look at this place! It's so…busy!" Henrietta chuckled.

"It's a huge tourist town. People love coming here and staying at the hotels and traveling up to the castle. In fact, I'd say it's one of the most populated towns on the island during tourist season." Clive grinned.

"Amazing." He whispered to himself as he watched a group of children playing football in a nearby field. Henrietta smiled to herself as she could hear Clive's expressions of wonder.

* * *

Toby was hard at work in the quarry when Mavis returned.

"Toby? Where's Clive?" She asked. Toby remained stoic.

"He said it was a quiet day so Henrietta had us swap duties." Mavis chuckled.

"Must make a nice change for him." Toby, however, resumed shunting trucks in rather grumpy manner, causing Mavis to roll towards him.

"Toby, I'm sure Clive is treating Henrietta like a gentleman; you needn't worry. He really wants to impress you." The tram engine chuckled.

"As inspiring as that is, Mavis, he still worries me. I see how rough he is with the trucks."

"He's getting better." Mavis insisted. Toby sighed, before giving a small smile.

"You've got a lot of faith in him, Mavis." Mavis smiled back.

"Just like you've got a lot of faith in me." She winked and returned to shunting, leaving Toby to resume his duties, chuckling to himself.

* * *

Clive returned with Henrietta that evening after completing Toby's jobs. Upon seeing Toby's watchful eye, he gently applied his brakes and rolled to a stop. He grinned at Toby after his gentle stop, causing the tram engine to give a small smile. Henrietta chuckled.

"Clive gave me a very smooth ride today, Toby. _Almost_ smoother than you!" Toby rolled his eyes at Henrietta's joke. Clive rolled away from Henrietta and Toby coupled up.

"Good night, Clive." He said sternly, but Clive grinned giddily.

"G-good night, Toby!" He stammered, and raced away to tell Mavis. Toby heard the clang of Clive hitting the buffers and chortled to himself as he rolled away.

* * *

As Toby returned to the sheds at Toryreck, he was surprised to see the Fat Controller waiting for him.

"Evening, sir." He said as he backed into the shed.

"Good evening, Toby. I have an important job for you tomorrow." The Fat Controller explained.

"Anything out of the ordinary, sir?" Toby asked. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Clive has to take a stone train up along the Tramroad up to Ulfstead tomorrow, and I would like you to double-head to keep an eye on him." Toby grimaced nervously.

"The Tramroad, sir?" Toby had managed fine by himself on the Tramroad before, but he knew Clive's short attention span and the close proximity to the road was a recipe for disaster. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Are you sure Clive can handle it, sir?"

"Clive can handle it just fine, Toby. Don't worry, sir, Toby can certainly manage with him." Henrietta called from behind him. The Fat Controller smiled.

"Splendid. Have a pleasant journey, Toby." He walked away, climbed in Winston, and rolled away. Toby glared back at his coach.

"Why did you do that?" He snapped.

"Oh hush, you'll thank me for it later. You have to learn to get along with him eventually." Toby sighed and shut his eyes, but was worried for the following day.

* * *

Clive, however, was delighted.

"A train with Toby!" He chortled to himself happily as he shunted the stone for the afternoon train. Mavis watched him and smiled to herself before calling out to him.

"You're on the Tramroad, Clive, so you have to keep a sharp watch on the road and line!" Clive snapped out of staring at a bird.

"Yes, of course, Mavis! I'll pay attention! I'm getting better-AGH!" He rammed into the buffers, causing Mavis to wince. Just then, Toby's bell rang throughout the quarry and the tram engine rolled in. Clive smiled eagerly.

"Hello, Toby!" Toby tried to smile, but it looked like he was in pain.

"Hi, Clive." He replied through nervously gritted teeth. Clive backed down towards the trucks, before stopping.

"Did you want to go in front, Toby?" He asked. Toby was about to answer, but then he thought about the possibility of what could happen on the Tramroad.

 _"Clive, stop!" CRASH!_

"No, I think you'd better go in front." He said quickly. Clive chuckled.

"Suit yourself!" He rolled forwards to give Toby room to back down behind him. The tram engine rang his bell and backed into place.

"Just an uneventful journey…" He muttered to himself. Clive gently backed down in front of Toby.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready. Just keep your eyes on the line ahead." Toby replied. Clive grinned.

"Aye-aye, sir!" He honked his horn, and the train set off towards Ulfstead.

* * *

Clive and Toby's journey was going rather well, but they didn't know that there was trouble ahead. George was back at work, continuing to repave the road. He was wider than most vehicles, and as a result was finding it difficult to stay in the narrow lane. However, he got an idea.

"If I use the railway to help me get to different sections of the road, I can save all this bother!" He chuckled to himself, and rolled onto the rails. Terence saw him from his field and honked his horn.

"You're playing with fire there, George! A train could come at any moment!" George scoffed.

"Oh, please, I'm more than capable of getting out of the way!" Terence continued to watch with doubt. Suddenly, he heard a horn and bell and saw Clive and Toby rounding the bend with a long line of stone trucks. He gasped and honked his horn.

"George, get out of the way!" George couldn't hear Terence, but Toby could.

"Clive, is there something on the line?" He asked. Clive was looking at the cows in the nearby pasture. Toby rang his bell loudly.

"CLIVE!" Clive snapped out of it.

"Toby, sorry! I-LOOK OUT!" He honked his horn loudly and slammed on his brakes. George gasped as Clive got closer and closer to his behind. He swerved out of the way just in time…

"WHOA!"…and into the fence enclosing the cow pasture. With a mighty splintering crash, George came to a stop. The cows mooed in fright. Terence grimaced.

"Now you've done it." They began ramming into the fence, before breaking it down with another loud crash. The cows began charging along the Tramroad out of sheer fright. George was the first to break the horrified silence.

"You idiot!" Terence raised an eyebrow as he puttered over.

"You're the one using the railway line! If anyone's an idiot, it's you!" He snapped. George growled.

"That lug could very clearly see me! He just wasn't paying attention!" He snapped right back. Clive recoiled in shame. George snarled at the ashamed diesel.

"I was right in front of you, you numbskull! Why didn't you stop?"

"I-I-I…" Clive couldn't think of anything to say. Terence glared at the steamroller.

"Don't change the subject! You were the one who rammed into the fence!"

"Yeah, but he was in my way!"

"You were messing about with the fence earlier!"

"Not now!"

"Road hog!"

"Busybody!" Suddenly, Toby rang his bell as loudly as he could.

"BE QUIET!" He bellowed. Terence and George stopped arguing. Toby scowled.

"In case you've forgotten, there is a horde of _cows_ stampeding towards one of the most populated villages on the Island, and we're doing _nothing to stop it!_ " George raised an eyebrow.

"What, do you have some idea, teapot?" Toby coughed.

"Well, um, no, but…"

"Excuse me?" Clive put in meekly.

"You've done enough." George snapped. However, Toby shushed him.

"You have something, Clive?" Clive was surprised by Toby listening to him, but continued.

"What if we cornered the cows somewhere to get them to stop? Toby and I have cowcatchers so we could herd them if we had a place to put them." Terence spoke up.

"We could lead them to the level crossing by the quarry! The one where Mavis got stuck!" Toby remained serious.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Clive?" Clive faltered for a moment.

"No, but it's the only chance we have."

"I'll raise the alarm." Terence revved away to the farmhouse, where his driver placed a call to Ulfstead.

* * *

The cows seemed to be following the railway line, so, after Terence's driver had called all the nearby towns, the police were called in to set up a blockade at the junction to direct them towards the quarry. Sergeant Roy was at the head, barking orders at the others.

"We have to completely block the line! Make it so these cows have nowhere else to go!" He called. Suddenly, he heard loud mooing and the tromping of hooves. He grimaced.

"Oh, crumbs. HURRY!" Quickly, the police force organized their cars in a barrier as the cows came speeding in. They rammed the cars for a bit, found they couldn't pass, and moved on around the bend towards the quarry. The police inspected their cars, and found minimal dents.

"Well done, everyone!" Roy called, and the other cops looked over to find him in a bush, rammed by a cow. Suddenly, he heard a horn and Clive rolled past, with Toby behind him.

"Well done!" Toby called as they passed. Roy groaned woozily.

"No problem, civilian!"

* * *

Terence and George raced along the road towards the crossing where they planned to trap the cows.

"Hurry up, George!" Terence called back as he revved along the road.

"I'm going as fast as I can! It's like you're some kind of speed demon either!" George snarked in reply.

"I'll have you know I-" Suddenly, Bertie sped by both of them. Terence fell silent.

"Point taken." He muttered, deadpan, but the two raced ahead nonetheless.

* * *

Clive and Toby raced ahead towards the crossing, where Mavis was due to meet them to help block in the cows. Suddenly, Toby began to roll to a halt.

"Oh no! I'm out of water!" Clive slammed his brakes on.

"Toby! Are you alright?" However, to his surprise, Toby frowned.

"There's no time, Clive! You need to go ahead and stop those cows!"

"But what about-"

"I'll be fine! Go! You have to keep focused!" Clive hesitated for a moment, before assuming a determined expression, honking his horn, and speeding forwards.

* * *

Terence and George arrived at the level crossing, while Mavis waited up the lane with a truck in front of her to help contain the cows. They parked to block the road while they waited for Clive.

"It's up to him, now." Terence muttered to himself.

Clive could see the charging cows down the line, and was staring right at them.

"Must keep focus…must stop cows…" He chanted. He honked his horn loudly at the cows, causing them to moo and begin to slow down. Clive slowed down too, and began tailing them with his cowcatcher.

"Come on, slow down, now! Calm down!" They began approaching the lane, and the cows began funneling into the lane. Clive began to ease his brakes on as the cows began ramming into Mavis' truck, but found they couldn't get by. One particularly eager bull rammed into Clive's cowcatcher, putting a dent in it.

"Ouch!" Clive groaned. However, as the cows found they were trapped, they began to calm down, and simply began milling about the lane. Clive let out a sigh of relief.

"I did it!" He cheered.

* * *

Later, Terence and the other tractors in the surrounding area all came with wagons to take the cows home.

"Solid work, Clive!" Terence called, and as he disappeared with a wagon full of cows, Roy rounded the bend with Butch following him. George grimaced.

"Oh no." Roy looked George up and down.

"It's always you, huh, George?" Detective Regan walked out and slapped a note onto George's face.

"Property damage fine." Roy said simply, before George could reply. The steamroller scowled.

"Anything else, constable?" To George's surprise, Butch attached his hook to George's rear, and began pulling him up in the air.

"Hey! I'm innocent!"

"Reports of you using the railway line when you should have stayed on the road lead me to believe otherwise, George! Come on, back for questioning, you!" Roy honked his horn and rolled down the lane, leaving Butch and a screaming George to follow him. Clive watched with amusement, but was surprised to hear a whistle.

"Huh?" To his surprise, Thomas came down the lane, pushing Toby in front of him, with the Fat Controller in his cab.

"Heard everything ended up alright in the end, huh, Clive?" Toby remarked, smiling. The Fat Controller stepped down from Thomas' cab.

"A very fine piece of work, indeed, Clive. Toby told me about your brave idea to stop the cows; Farmer McColl will be very pleased to have them safe in their pasture. I'm very proud of you." Clive blushed.

"Thank you, sir." The Fat Controller smiled.

"As a reward for your heroism, you will receive a new coat of paint at the Dieselworks…and looking at your cowcatcher, it seems like you might need a trip anyway." He remarked, pointing at Clive's dented cowcatcher. To everyone's surprise, Toby rang his bell.

"Three cheers for Clive! The hero! Hip hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip!"

"Hooray!" Clive had never felt more loved in all his life.

* * *

Clive was at the Dieselworks for a few days, and it was nighttime by the time he was repainted. He looked as good as new as he rolled through the night, admiring the trees. As he passed Toryreck station, he heard a familiar bell and applied his brakes.

"Hey, Toby!" He called to the tram engine parked in his shed, who smiled at him.

"Heading back to the quarry, Clive?" Clive smiled.

"Yup. Kind of dark, though; glad I've got my lamp!" He looked up at his lamp, shining brightly in the moonlight. Toby was silent for a moment, before Henrietta cleared her throat. Toby spoke again.

"It's awfully late, Clive. Why don't you stay the night here and head up to the quarry in the morning?" Clive grinned.

"That'd be great, thanks Toby!" Clive backed to the points to switch towards the shed, but quickly remembered to have his driver turn his lamp off.

"Don't want any eye mishaps!" He chuckled to himself. He rolled into the shed and yawned loudly. Toby grimaced for a moment before speaking.

"Clive, I'm sorry for the way I treated you. It wasn't right at all and I hope you can forgive me." No response.

"Clive?" The diesel was already fast asleep. Toby chuckled to himself.

"Mavis has her work cut out for her." He shut his eyes and went to sleep as well. As the tram engine slept, his faithful coach chuckled to herself, before subsiding to rest too.

 **THE END**

* * *

And thus Clive's saga has come to its conclusion! With Toby's approval and a congratulations from the Fat Controller, Clive now truly belongs and is part of the team. Writing this little RWS-esque saga of _Fusspot, The Strongest Shunter, Saturday Night Clive,_ and this story was a lot of fun and definitely helped me with tying stories together in future! Toby, as some may know, is my favorite character in the Thomas mythos, and I hope I did him justice throughout this saga. Writing Terence and George into this was a lot of fun as well, especially with Terence's recently announced return to the TV series. Of course, there is one more episode in this grand collection, and come back tomorrow to see _High Speed Henrietta,_ the Set 2 finale!


	55. TT6 - High Speed Henrietta

**HIGH SPEED HENRIETTA**

Visitors frequently come to the Island of Sodor, and they often take the trains that run across the island on the North Western Railway. However, some very wealthy visitors have their own private engines.

"Important engine coming through!" Spencer is the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's private engine, who takes them around the island when they come to visit during the summer holidays. However, while the engines enjoy the company of the Duke and Duchess, they aren't very fond of Spencer at all. They think he's a…

"Showoff." Gordon grumbled as Spencer pulled into the platform at Knapford. James and Thomas murmured sympathetically. Spencer doesn't care; as long as he has his Pullman coaches he is as happy as a clam.

* * *

" _Stopping services_?" Spencer spluttered to his driver as he was fired up from his shed nearby the Summer House.

"That's what the Duke and Duchess said. They're out taking a tour with Hugo today, so they're renting you out to the Fat Controller to run the local today." Spencer groaned.

"Gordon is going to have a _field day_ when he sees me." He muttered. Before he could leave the Summer House, however, he overheard some talking on the station platform.

"…I promise you, Duke and Duchess, that Hugo will give you the smoothest, fastest tour you've ever received." Hugo's owner and driver, Franz, was currently making an elaborate speech to the Duke and Duchess.

"Don't let Spencer hear that! He's sure to get jealous!" The Duchess replied, chuckling. Spencer gritted his teeth in his sheds, confirming the Duchess' suspicions. Franz grinned and gestured to Hugo's doors.

"Climb aboard!" The Duke and Duchess stepped inside. As Hugo pulled away from the station, he called out to Spencer.

"Have a nice local, Spencer!" Spencer thought he was teasing him, and growled under his breath as Hugo disappeared down the line.

* * *

Spencer was soon enough out on the local services, stopping at every station. Even though he was using his Pullman coaches, he hated it.

"Why so slow? Are you breaking down?" Gordon asked innocently as he thundered by the express. Spencer groaned.

"Great." Everywhere he looked, engines were teasing him.

"Oh, look Bill! It's a new _slow_ engine!" Ben called as Spencer passed Wellsworth, Bill laughing along with him. Spencer grit his teeth in fury.

"Shut up!" He snapped, and began to speed up.

* * *

Spencer had completed the journey to Vicarstown, and was now on his way home with the empty coaches. He passed through Elsbridge when he heard Thomas call out.

"Hey, Spencer! Taking the slow line today? You're so good, you should probably pull the slow goods!" Spencer glared at Thomas as he passed. Suddenly, he got an idea and smirked.

"I could show those silly Sodor engines _and_ Hugo how fast I am anyday!" He chuckled to himself, and gradually began to speed up.

"Whoa! Ease up, Spencer, ease up!" His driver called, but Spencer was too focused on going fast to care. Spencer sped past Edward, who blew his whistle loudly to him.

"Spencer, slow down! You're approaching the junction!" He called. Sure enough, Spencer was approaching the junction, where Clive was pushing some stone trucks to the platform. Spencer gasped, and slammed his brakes on.

"Oh no!" Clive cried, and tried to brake as well. Spencer managed to speed past Clive before the trucks could collide with him…his coaches were not so lucky. Clive's stone trucks rammed into Spencer's coaches, knocking them off the rails and onto their sides. Glass shattered, frames were dented, and the junction was blocked. Spencer winced as every signal went red, but his guilt turned to horror when he saw who was waiting in the platform.

"Hi, Spencer! How was your day?" Hugo called from the platform. The Duke and Duchess were standing alongside him and looked very cross.

* * *

The Breakdown Train was brought in to help clear the mess. When the Duke and Duchess saw the state of their coaches, they were not pleased. Many windows were shattered, the paint was scratched, and the damage needed to be repaired as soon as possible.

"I'm dreadfully sorry…" Clive said guiltily. The Duchess smiled at him.

"Don't worry, dear, it's not your fault. It's the fault of _somebody_ going too fast!" She turned to look at Spencer, who grinned sheepishly. The Duke, however, was more distraught.

"However are we to attend all our important social occasions with coaches? We can't ride in the cab, it'll ruin our clothes!" He groaned. The Duchess turned to Franz.

"I don't suppose we can borrow Hugo for a few days, can we?" Franz sighed.

"Apologies, Duchess, but Hugo's all booked out for the next month."

"We would have loved to help!" Hugo added from the platform. The Duchess sighed. However, a throat clearing itself made itself heard.

"I could help out with that." The Fat Controller walked towards the Duke and Duchess.

"How so, Topham?" The Duke asked. The Fat Controller smiled.

"I have tons of coaches, I'm sure you could borrow one for a few days. It would really be no bother at all." The Duke and Duchess looked at each other.

"Much appreciated, Sir Topham." The Duchess said. The Fat Controller grinned.

"Come, let's get started!" He led the Duke and Duchess towards the yard. Spencer scowled.

"Maybe if they hadn't gone with Hugo, I wouldn't have crashed…" He muttered.

* * *

Toby the Tram Engine was heading along the branch line, dropping quarry workers off at every station. Of course, he was pulling his faithful coach, Henrietta, who was doing all that she could to keep Toby on track.

"Toby, why didn't you stop at Elsbridge? You know you need water from there!" Toby sighed.

"It's Andy's day off, Henrietta, and he's the only one who gets off at Elsbridge." Henrietta raised an eyebrow.

"Toby…" Toby sighed.

"Alright, Henrietta." He reversed back along the line towards the water tower, and began filling up. Henrietta chuckled to herself. She prided herself on her way of gently reminding Toby to keep him on track.

* * *

When Toby arrived at Knapford with Henrietta in tow, he was surprised to see the Fat Controller talking to the Duke and Duchess on the platform.

"I'm sorry, Sir Topham, but it just doesn't seem like you have any coaches that fit our liking." The Duke said, scratching the back of his head, but his wife grabbing his arm and eagerly pointing across the station to Toby and Henrietta interrupted him.

"What is it, dear?"

"Look at that coach! It's positively delightful!" Spencer, who had just pulled into the platform, saw what the Duchess was referring to and scoffed.

"That old thing? She'd fall apart at my speeds!" Henrietta glared back at Spencer, before speaking.

"I'm very flattered, ma'am, but I'm afraid Toby needs me." Toby cleared his throat.

"Actually, Henrietta, I would say that I can manage without you for a few days. The Duke and Duchess are definitely more important than me. Besides, we wouldn't them stuck at the Summer House, would we?" Henrietta sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it." The Fat Controller grinned.

"Splendid! The Pullman coaches should be repaired in a few days, so you need to only last that long, Henrietta." Philip rolled over, coupled up to Henrietta, and pushed her behind Spencer. Henrietta watched Toby leave with worry.

"Remember to take on water at Elsbridge, Toby! Leave fifteen minutes earlier when its raining, you know how the junction is!" Toby smiled.

"Don't worry, Henrietta, I'll be alright!" Toby didn't want to admit it, but he was missing his coach already. Spencer snorted as Henrietta was coupled up.

"I can't believe I'm getting my _lovely_ coaches replaced with this old…shack on wheels!" Henrietta felt insulted, but she grit her teeth.

"Toby's best when you're calm with him…" She muttered under her breath as Spencer pulled away from the station.

* * *

That night, Henrietta stayed at the Summer House. Spencer didn't like having to share his shed, and despite Henrietta's attempts to simply ignore him and go to sleep, he rambled on and on.

"You're a useless old hut! I'd much rather stay in the shed all day then be caught scrapped pulling you around!" He complained. Henrietta rolled her eyes.

"Try pulling a train with me before you commit to that opinion, dearie." She replied, leaving Spencer to simply complain without an audience.

"I have to get that Spencer in order…" She muttered to herself, and she knew just what to do; she did the same thing with Toby when he was a young engine.

The following day, Spencer took his first trip with Henrietta, the Duke, and Duchess down the main line.

"Remember our stops today, Spencer; we have to drop the Duke and Duchess off at Killdane for an excursion up the Scenic Line, then take them down to Norramby Boardwalk for dinner, and then to Vicarstown so they can go to the gala tonight. I think you should-"

"My other coaches were not this loud! Why don't you just be quiet and enjoy the journey? I'm sure I'm _much_ faster than Toby!" He grinned to himself. Henrietta, however, frowned.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew where we're stopping."

"Of course I know where we're stopping, and that's _my_ responsibility, not yours. Now be quiet and just be a coach." Henrietta sighed and grit her teeth. It was clear to her that she wasn't going to get a word in. Suddenly, she was surprised to see Killdane station pass by her.

"Spencer? I think we were supposed to stop there!" She called. Spencer rolled his eyes.

"Please! I know where I'm supposed to stop!" Suddenly, Henrietta's emergency cable was pulled and her brakes slammed on, causing Spencer to have to brake as well.

"Now what have you done, you silly shack?" Henrietta spluttered.

"You think I pulled my own emergency cable?" The Duke stuck his head out of the window.

"Spencer! We were supposed to stop at Killdane!" Spencer turned red in embarrassment.

"Oh, um, apologies." He chuckled sheepishly as he reversed back towards the station. The Duke and Duchess disembarked and climbed aboard Lucian's train. The scenic engine whistled and pulled away from the station while Spencer reversed into the sheds with Henrietta.

"I told you we had to stop there, Spencer. Now, in future, always make sure you know your stops before-" Spencer simply snorted.

"What would a coach know about pulling a train? Just be quiet, and sit back. This should be the only mishap this journey if you're quiet. You were distracting me." Henrietta seethed, but noticed something.

"Aren't you going to take on water, Spencer?" She asked. Spencer scoffed.

"Why should I? I've plenty of water."

"But the next water tower isn't for a while, Spencer, I really think you should-" Spencer simply wheeshed steam, causing Henrietta to harrumph crossly before simply falling silent.

"Toby would've never made a mistake like that…" She muttered.

* * *

After the Duke & Duchess had completed their excursion, they returned to Spencer and Henrietta, and they started off again towards Norramby Boardwalk. Henrietta remained quiet as they made their way down the Norramby Branch Line. Spencer smirked to himself.

"Finally, she's quiet." He chuckled haughtily, failing to notice an "all trains must brake, station ahead" sign. Henrietta didn't fail to notice it however, and her eyes widened with alarm when she saw that they had passed it.

"Spencer, there was a braking sign! We need to stop!" Spencer scoffed.

"I would have seen it, you're just afraid of my spe-WHAT?" Spencer gasped as Norramby came into view, and slammed his brakes hard on. He swerved into the platform and rammed into the buffers with a loud bump, causing the Duke and Duchess to jerk around in their seats inside Henrietta. Jeb and Bonnie, parked on their siding, winced in pain from the sound of the impact, and Spencer groaned.

"I told you about the brake sign!" Henrietta snapped. The Duke and Duchess were also quite non-plussed.

"What's gotten into you, Spencer? Behave yourself; it's your fault your coaches need repairs!" The Duke fumed as his wife massaged his shoulders.

"Easy, dear, we'll miss our reservation." They walked away, leaving Spencer to go to turn around on the table, pulling Henrietta with him.

"Why won't you listen to me?" She asked, exasperated. Spencer snorted.

"You're a coach, _I'm_ an engine. You're not even facing forwards! What could you possibly know?" Henrietta sighed as they reversed back into the platform to wait for the Duke and Duchess. However, she raised an eyebrow.

"You're still not getting water? You're definitely going to run out now!"

"Oh, pah. I've got tons of water left! I'm nothing like little Toby!" Henrietta gritted her teeth and groaned; this was proving much more difficult than she thought it would be.

* * *

The sun was setting when the Duke and Duchess returned from their dinner, and Spencer and Henrietta set off again. As they raced along the branch line, Henrietta began to grow nervous.

"Spencer, I think we're going above the speed limit!" She called as they rocketed through the fishing village. Spencer scoffed.

"Silly coach, my speed has no limit!" He smirked as he blew his whistle and began to go faster. Henrietta groaned as she began to rock about.

"Spencer, slow down!" Spencer laughed as he sped along the line. Suddenly, he gasped and began to slow down.

"I can't breathe!" He cried, and his driver slammed the brakes on. Slowly, Spencer came to a stop in the middle of the line.

"I've run out of water!" He wailed. Henrietta raised an eyebrow.

"Why am I not surprised?" She muttered. The Duke and Duchess were not pleased with Spencer.

"Spencer! We are going to be late for the gala!" The Duke fumed. The streamlined engine flushed red in shame.

"I'm sorry, your lordship…" He stammered. His driver hopped down.

"I'll go for help." He ran ahead to the nearest station to telephone for another engine.

* * *

Soon enough, Arthur arrived and coupled up to Spencer.

"We'll have you to Ballahoo in a jiffy so you can get more water!" He chuckled, as he began pulling the grumbling streamliner along. Henrietta sighed as she was dragged along behind.

"He really is nothing like Toby…" She sighed. However, she began to think.

" _I'm nothing like little Toby…_ " Henrietta's eyes widened.

"That's it! It hasn't been working because I've been doing to Spencer what I do to Toby, but Spencer _isn't_ Toby! Spencer is Spencer, and I have to use a different method! But what?" Suddenly, she heard a conversation between Spencer and Arthur in front of her.

"I really don't think you're the fastest engine on the island, Spencer; especially not with Connor, and Caitlin, and…"

"I completely am, I assure you, Arthur! I-" Henrietta grinned as the wheels in her head began to turn; she had a new strategy to try.

* * *

Arthur dropped Spencer off at the water tower and Spencer began to fill up. He was still furiously grumbling to himself, and was surprised when he heard Henrietta clear her throat.

"What do you want?" He grunted. Henrietta grinned.

"You've got a lot of time to make up, huh, Spencer?" She asked innocently. Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes. I expect you're going to tell me not to go too fast? Well, in case you haven't noticed, the Duke and Duchess are not happy with me, so I'd rather not have you breathing down my neck-"

"Oh no, I wasn't going to talk about that at all." Spencer's eyes widened in surprise.

"You weren't?" Henrietta smirked.

"No, I just wanted to say that I didn't know I was behind the _most careful_ engine on the island…" Spencer was taken aback; he had been called many things before, but never "the most careful engine on the island"! Spencer grinned to himself.

"Yes, I am! An honour, I'm sure!" He announced grandly. Henrietta chuckled to herself. The Duke walked out onto her balcony and peered around the train.

"Are you done yet, driver?" He asked to Spencer's driver, sitting on the tender filling it up. Spencer's driver looked down.

"Just about. Come on, Spencer. Let's try to make up the time." After everything was away, Spencer left again. Henrietta smiled to herself.

"Let's see if this works!"

* * *

As Spencer and Henrietta sped along the line towards Vicarstown, Spencer was trying to live up to his title of the "most careful". He slowed down around bends, he studied each signal closely, and he made sure his lamps lit the way. Henrietta grinned; her plan was working perfectly.

"Spencer the Careful!" The streamlined engine called regally as he finally began to approach Vicarstown.

* * *

Spencer arrived at Vicarstown five minutes late. The Duke and Duchess disembarked onto the platform, and the Duke looked at his watch.

"Well, I suppose we can be…fashionably late. Well done, Spencer, but we'll have a word about your behavior today later. TAXI!" The Duke and Duchess sprinted away to catch a taxi to the gala. Spencer sighed in relief, but he heard sniggering from the other platforms.

"Fashionably late, eh, Spencer?" Gordon asked innocently from the other side of the station, where he and James were waiting with their evening trains. Spencer flushed in embarrassment.

"Heh, I-"

"Oh, leave him alone, you two." Henrietta spoke up, much to Spencer's surprise.

"Spencer's _never_ late! Can't we get back at him for being a showoff?" James snapped. Henrietta scowled.

"He ran out of water. It could happen to any engine! Now, I suggest you two find better things to do that make fun of another engine!" Gordon and James looked at each other before falling into silence. Spencer was shocked.

"Why…why did you defend me? I've been rude to you all day!" Henrietta chuckled.

"I look out for my engine, no matter who is pulling me. Besides, you did a pretty good job listening to me on the way up here!" Spencer raised an eyebrow, before gasping.

"You tricked me!"

"Reverse psychology, Spencer." Henrietta chortled.

"So I'm not really the most careful engine?"

"No, but you can be! Wasn't the journey we just had so smooth when you were careful?" Spencer faltered.

"I suppose so…" Henrietta chuckled to herself; her plan had worked.

* * *

For the next few days until the Pullman coaches were repaired, Spencer was far more eager to listen to Henrietta.

"I think we should take on water now, Spencer!" She called forwards as they entered Maron station. Spencer whistled, and rolled over towards the water tower after the Duke and Duchess had disembarked. Henrietta simmered happily as Spencer filled up with water.

"You're a little over speed limit, Spencer!" She called as Spencer approached the boardwalk again. Spencer accordingly slowed down, and gently braked into the station, barely nudging the buffers.

"Where are we stopping today, Henrietta?" Spencer asked as he raced down the main line.

"Callan Castle for lunch with Lord Callan, Knapford station so Thomas can take the Duke and Duchess to the airfield for a balloon ride, and then home." Henrietta replied. Spencer smirked and rolled on ahead, confident as to where he was going.

* * *

At last, Spencer was reunited with his Pullman coaches.

"Here you go, Spencer! Good as new!" Stanley called as he presented Spencer with them. Spencer beamed happily, but he looked back at Henrietta, who waiting on a siding for Toby to come pick her up.

"Good luck!" She called. Spencer grinned as he backed down onto his Pullman coaches. He whistled and rolled away, being nice and careful the whole way. As soon as Spencer had left, Toby arrived in the yard.

"Hello, Henrietta! How was working with Spencer?" Henrietta chuckled.

"Hello, Toby. Tiring, but I think our working together ended up benefitting me as much as it did Spencer." Toby raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? How so?" Henrietta smiled.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see!"

* * *

Henrietta's work on Spencer did him a lot of good. Although he's still puffed up in the smokebox, he's much better behaved nowadays. The engines can't figure out what Henrietta did to him!

"I just can't understand it! He used to be so rude, but what happened?" Thomas remarked to Toby as they waiting in the platform at Knapford. Henrietta looked at the station behind her, and watched as Spencer pulled into a platform on the other side, and she caught Spencer's eye. He looked around from left to right before mouthing "thank you" to her. Henrietta winked back, and, as Toby's bell rang, watched him disappear farther behind her as she returned to work as Toby's faithful coach.

 **THE END**

* * *

And with that, we come to the end of Set 2! This Set sure was a doozy to write, significantly more dense than Set 1. Spencer and Henrietta as a duo is something I've wanted to write for a while, and it came out really quite nice. Expanding on Henrietta's personality in addition to having her have to deal with the grandiose Spencer created a fun dynamic that naturally lent itself to storytelling. But wow, Set 2! Following my first original special was going to be hard, but I'm very proud to say that it ended up being quite good in my opinion. Newbies got spotlight, as did returnees and classic characters, and I even set some new bars with this set! Next set, I will have more things planned in advance so the wait for new content will not be as long, but I hope you all enjoyed it! Seeing as this is the end of Set 2, I would like to see what your guys' top favorites were, in addition to hearing about things I could improve upon for _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber _and further. Speaking of _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber, _come back tomorrow to see a trailer for it, in addition to other special surprises...


	56. TT - Bonus Features

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day..."

 _Salty stopped dead in his tracks in surprise._

 _"Does he always have this many kangaroos loose in the top paddock?" A small yellow submarine with swimming goggles on her forehead and snorkel nearby her face asked in a thick Australian accent._

"To the last syllable of recorded time

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools..."

 _Salty, painted green, raced towards the accident with the resident crane._

 _Sir Handel, with a martini glass on his running plate and a feather boa around his funnel, stood atop a piano, crooning his heart out as Mr. Hugh played._

"...the way to dusty death."

 _Salty, Porter, Cranky, Murdoch, and Thomas could only watch in horror as the ship's engine exploded, flames erupting into the ocean around them._

 _"The mega weapon's moving on it's own! THE WORLD IS ENDING, DUDE!" Colin cried out and shut his eyes tightly as the gigantic Rail Cannon left the Wharf, hauled by three huge diesels and a mysterious hooded engine._

"Out! Out, brief candle!"

 _The truck's eyes remained open as its singed frames fell on its side._

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more."

 _"OF COURSE IT'S ABOUT HIM!" A little green shunting tractor with a squashed nose shouted in Salty's face._

 _"How_ _ **dare**_ _you!" The big blue diesel with white lining and a five-o-clock shadow thundered into a defiant Thomas' face._

 _"Lass mich gehen! Lass mich gehen!" The gigantic rail cannon screamed as the four engines shunted her along. Beetle tried to follow them, but was braked to a halt._

 _"Shh...shh..." Clive frantically tried to calm the hysteric Rail Cannon down, but she kept sobbing._

 _"I've waited too long!" The hooded engine spat into Clive's terrified face._

"It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying..."

 _"You can't run from your past forever." Porter told Salty, who looked away, ashamed._

 _"Thomas!" Salty cried as the tank engine sped away from the burnt Wharf._

"Nothing."

 _The hooded engine looked at his handiwork in the ocean below. He smirked, which turned into a laugh, which crescendoed into a deep cackle that echoed around the hills as lightning flashed in the skies above._

THOMAS & THE BUFFMAN BOMBER

 _"Millard Buffman must die...and the tank engine too." The hooded engine's voice echoed in the silence._

COMING SOON...

* * *

 _"I suffer dreadfully, and no one cares..."_

 _"Rubbish, Henry, you don't work hard enough!"_

THE RAILS TO REDEMPTION

COMING SOON...

* * *

 _Philip gasped as a ship pulled into the docks, and engines began piling off._

 _"Wow!"_

WHEN THE GREAT RAILWAY SHOW COMES TO TOWN...

 _"Well, Gordon, if you're so fast, why don't your race me at the Great Railway Show?" Flying Scotsman asked, the enthusiasts directing their attention towards Gordon._

THE MIGHTIEST ENGINES ARRIVE...

 _Philip looked up at the big tender engine who he had prevented from getting back onto the ship with guilty eyes._

TO COMPETE FROM ACROSS THE WORLD...

 _"You don't stand a chance, not with **me** around." Vinnie sneered at Henry in Knapford station. The big green engine grimaced._

ONE ENGINE DREAMS OF DEFEATING ANOTHER...

 _"I am **the Shooting Star!** " Gordon called grandly in his new streamlined form. Thomas, Henry, James, and Stephen all looked impressed._

 _"Hello, Gordon! I look forward to our **race!** " Flying Scotsman's smug smirk on the television caused Gordon's eyes to narrow as the men applied his streamlined casing._

AS THE SHOW INCHES CLOSER...

 _"I'll smash your glasses, four-eyes!" Vinnie snarled at a passing Whiff, who yipped and sped ahead with his rubbish trucks._

 _"You? Go to the show?" James laughed at Philip._

 _"We're not asking for the race spot because we all know Gordon will get it." Henry explained sympathetically._

 _"Shooting Star! GORDON!" Flying Scotsman cried as his brother sped ahead from the starting line, his face beginning to get redder and redder._

IN THIS THRILLING MUSICAL ADVENTURE...

 _"Good, better, best! Never let it rest!_

 _'Til your good is your better, and your better is your best!" Stephen sang as Henry and Vinnie strained pulling heavy loads on either side of him._

 _"Hurry up, gramps, I haven't got all day!" Vinnie rolled his eyes._

ATTEND THE GREAT RAILWAY SHOW, AND SEE THE GREATEST RACE OF THE CENTURY...

 _"Shooting Star of Sodor!"_

 _"Flying Scotsman of England!" The two brothers gave each other competitive glance, Gordon glaring and Flying Scotsman grinning._

 _"They could be good friends if they weren't so puffed up!" Stepney remarked to Yong Bao and Carlos, who grunted in agreement._

 _Gordon's dials began to grow hotter and hotter as the big engine's face began to grow redder and redder._

 _"GORDON! STOP!"_

FIND OUT IN...

THE GREAT RACE!

REWRITTEN BY CHASE THE FERROEQUINOLOGIST AND DONALDDOUGLASANDTOBY6, AND COMING SOON...

* * *

Told you I had more then just _T &TBB _this time!

 **Thomas & The Buffman Bomber - **The monologue over the trailer is the "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" monologue from Macbeth, spoken by our villain, the mysterious Buffman Bomber. He does have a true identity, which will be revealed in the special itself, but I'll keep that mystery secret for now. This special will come out first of the three, and is the special for Set 3, tying with it. It has a lot of newbies: Deltic the Goods Link Diesel Engine, Skyler the Submarine, Soggy the Shunting Tractor, Gün Dora the Rail Cannon, and of course the Buffman Bomber himself, to name a few, but there are more. It also gives us two returnees in the form of Murdoch, finally speaking after appearing in Set 2 in several cameos, and a surprise one, Colin, who now has a more distinct personality and stoner lingo. Beetle will also be returning in this special! As you could probably tell, Salty is the film's main character, and I am excited for you all to learn his backstory.

 **The Rails to Redemption -** Bet you didn't expect a _Troublesome Engines_ sequel! This adaptation of _Henry the Green Engine_ and _Toby the Tram Engine_ will follow in the pursuit of what _Troublesome Engines_ did. However, there will be a few differences. For starters, Glynn, Judy, and Jerome will make prominent appearances after being absent from _Troublesome Engines._ This, like _Troublesome Engines,_ will be a twelve chapter story, while the other two specials will be fifteen.

 **The Great Race -** If you checked out my SoundCloud, you may have already known this one was happening due to the song I posted that I wrote for it, but here it is! One of the only rewrites I will ever do (unless persuaded to do otherwise), this rewrite will put Gordon in the spotlight, with Vinnie, Stephen, and Caitlin in far more prominent roles than the canon movie, as well as the return of Stepney! This special will also effect Set 3, albeit not as severely as _Thomas & The Buffman Bomber, _with Flying Scotsman making continued appearances, Stepney making continued appearances, and one final newbie from the film who sticks around, but I won't spoil that!

Thank you all so much for reading Set 2, and I look forward to coming back to you all with more content soon!


End file.
